


Of Echoes and Orchids

by TheLadyBath



Series: Ohana [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Big Brother/Little Sister, Crime, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 01:36:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6136777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyBath/pseuds/TheLadyBath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alyssa is truly happy. She is part of a family and now has found love. What happens when secrets from her past threaten everything she has worked for? Alyssa is so scared of what her Ohana may think, that she takes matters into her own hands with potentially terrible consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Alyssa looked up at Chin. "Here?" She said. "Now?" She noticed with irritation that her voice had gone up an octave between those two questions. She huffed in frustration. She was a grown woman and here she was getting flustered by her brother's presence at her boyfriend's house. She smiled crookedly. Somehow the term "boyfriend" did not seem an appropriate description for Chin. She shook her head to clear it. "Well I was going to need to tell Steve about us sooner or later anyway," she said, "it might as well be sooner."

Chin looked at her, reached out and pulled her into his arms. "I know that this is a little," he paused looking for the right word, "...awkward. But it will be OK. I promise," he smiled. "And I've not broken a promise to you yet." As Alyssa went off to take a very quick shower and change, she was thankful that she had not taken out her work duffle which contained some clean clothes.

Chin too started to dress, he hoped that he was right and that everything would be alright when Steve learned that Aly and he had become more than friends. The last thing he wanted was to come between Aly and her brother and frankly, he was not looking forward to explaining things to a possibly, very pissed off Navy Seal who also happened to be his boss and one of his best friends. Chin sighed as he pulled on shorts and a tee-shirt. "No time like the present."

Chin opened the door and was met with the grinning faces of the entire team. Steve was in the front with the donuts followed by Kono and then Danny with Grace. Grace let out a squeal of happines and threw herself into Chin's arms. "Uncle Chin, I'm so glad you're OK." Chin smiled and returned the hug. He stepped out of the way and let the entire Ohana into the house.

He caught Kono's questioning look. She knew what was coming. He nodded ever so slightly and she just shrugged lightly. There was nothing to be done, but to face the situation head on.

"I don't know where Aly is," Steve groused. "I texted her, but she's not answered."

"That's because I'm right here." All eyes pivoted toward the door to the Living Room as Alyssa walked in, dressed in shorts and with her wet hair pulled back into a low, loose ponytail. Alyssa's face turned pink in embarrassment, but she entered the kitchen with her head up and met the eyes of her friends and family. All eyes grew wide as understanding dawned and Alyssa smiled shyly as she walked over to Chin, put her hand on his shoulder and let him wrap an arm protectively and somewhat possessively around her waist.

Not surprisingly, Steve was the first to break the silence. He had been sitting at the table, but now his chair made a loud scraping noise on the wooden floor as he pushed away. Without taking his eyes off of Alyssa, he said quietly, "Chin, can we talk? Now. Outside." It was not really a question.


	2. Chapter 2

Alyssa opened her mouth to speak, but Chin gently stroked her back even as he stood up. He smiled at her as he looked over at Steve. "We can talk in the back yard." He let Steve lead the way and followed him out. Alyssa looked after the two most important men in her life as they walked to the back door.

Kono came over and put her hands on Alyssa's shoulders. "How about you and I go make some coffee while the boys sort this out?" Alyssa looked up at Kono and she smiled reassuringly.

Danny must have seen how upset Alyssa was. He walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "Its OK. Let them figure out whose is bigger and they will come back friends." Alyssa blushed as Danny's meaning became clear, but she felt better for the other man's humor.

The moment the two men were about twenty yards from the house, Steve turned to face Chin, his eyes blazing.

"What the hell are you thinking, Chin?" An island of women for you to...", Steve stopped speaking, took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get control of himself and to prevent what was, most likely, an crude reference from escaping his lips. "Of all the women you could have picked, you choose my sister. My sister, dammit." Steve was fighting every impulse in his body to grab the other man by the front of his shirt. "And she is ten years younger than you. I am not sure how you convinced her or what you did…"

Chin looked at the other man with something very much like compassion in his eyes. He understood how Steve felt. Its how he, himself felt about Kono. He had been quite up to that point in the face of the angry tempest, but now he spoke and his voice took on steel that Steve was not accustomed to hearing, but which he knew well enough to respect.

"Steve. I am sorry that you had to find out this. I swear to you that was not our plan. The truth is that I am in love with Aly. I have been in love with her for a while, but was too stupid to see it. Getting shot puts things into perspective," Chin flashed a wry smile and turned serious. "To go after those things that are truly important. I did not want to regret not trying. I have too many regrets already."

Steve stopped and stared at Chin for a few moments. He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it. He knew about his own regrets and could not really blame Chin for trying to keep his own regrets at bay. Steve took a moment to consider and continued, "She is so young…"

Chin interrupted Steve, "For God's sake, Steve. Do you hear yourself? This is Aly we are talking about. Have you actually known her to do anything that she did not specifically want to do? I swear to you that I did not...,"Chin paused, "exercise any type of undue pressure. She is a grown woman and you and I both know she will do what she wants."

Steve tried to argue, but found that he could not. He nodded silently and went on. "When we were bringing Aly back from Brazil, I swore to her that I would do everything that I could to make sure that she is never hurt again. She's been through so much already." Steve looked at Chin as if challenging him to argue. Chin looked back steadily. Brown eyes full of resolve met blue ones still sparking with anger.

Chin smiled sadly at his friend. "Then maybe together you and I can manage to keep her safe. I get it. Of all people, I get what you are promising Steve. You are not saying anything that I have not said to myself already. I know what Aly's been through. I can't undo it, "Chin said, unwittingly echoing Steve's own words, "but I can make damn sure she is not hurt again on my watch." Steve stared at the other man. Given what Chin had been through and the depth of his own losses, these words carried more weight than from any other man that Steve knew.

The two men continued to look at each other until Steve looked away. "Damn it, I'm sorry, Chin," Steve said. "I...,"

"Forget it, brah," Chin clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Let's get back to the house and I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

Alyssa was a wreck. She tried to concentrate on making coffee, but kept losing count of the number of spoons of coffee grounds she was putting into the basket. Her mind kept drifting to the conversation that Steve and Chin might have been having.

She was fairly certain that nothing very bad was going to happen. But only fairly certain. Steve had a temper and Chin, althouhg he was usually even tempred and calm, was no slouch in a fight if suffciently provoked. There was potential for things to go very, very wrong. But, she told herself, Steve and Chin were friends. They would not actually get into a fight...she hoped. She was worried though. Would Chin still want to be with her after his chat with Steve? What would Steve think of her since she did not tell him the truth upfront? And, another thought came to the forefront, why were they having this discussion about her without her being there? That thought pushed her worries slightly back as now she was furious at the two men.

When she saw them enter through the back door, with almost identical stupid smiles and with very similar self-satisfied looks on their faces. When she looked at them, Alyssa thought they looked like two merchants who had just reached a deal and that she was most likely the prized heifer. This thought made her even madder.

Steve caught her eye and smiled broadly, "We've talked about this," he hesitated over the word, but went on," and I think everything has been sorted out."

Alyssa looked at him in outrage. "It has, has it?" she purred and her reaction was enough to draw a smile from Kono. Steve and her cousin may have been two of the smartest men she knew, but they were apparently idiots when it came to dealing with women. Alyssa continued in that same, dangerous tone. "Then I hope that you and Chin will be very happy together." She brushed between and past the two very befuddled men.

Confused, the two men looked at Kono who was chuckling at their discomfiture. "You two forgot something very important in your discussion. You forgot about Aly."

Chin sighed, "You're right. I'll go talk to her."

Steve just shook his head. "I am an idiot. I just roll in here and manage to pretty much foul everything up. I'll go talk to her and apologize for being the ass that I have been." Nobody argued or stopped him.

Alyssa was standing by the water's edge. She was tossing in sticks and rocks; just flinging them as hard and far as she good. She was still angry, but mostly she was worried. She could not bear the thought that she might lose either of the men that have become so important in her life. She heard the crunch of sand under foot and felt Steve come up behind her. She did not turn around as she was not sure she was ready to face him and whatever he had to say.

Steve approached Alyssa and gently cleared his throat. He was pretty sure she heard him, even though she did not turn around. "I admit it," he said with a little chuckle, "I've been a Neanderthal."

In her mind's eye. Alyssa could swear she could see the smile lighting up his eyes. "A stupid Neanderthal," she countered.

At this, Steve did laugh. "Ok. You're right," he then got serious. "Aly, I really am sorry. I screwed this whole thing up. I have no right to meddle

in your life. It's just…"

Alyssa whirled on him, and looked into his eyes. "You can be a real idiot sometimes. Steve. You have literally saved my life – more than once and risked your life doing it. You have given me a family; a real Ohana. And you gave me Five-O." Alyssa took a deep breath, trying to control her quavering voice. "You are my brother, something I did'nt think I'd ever have, and I love you. If anybody has any right to comment on my life, it's you."

Steve was dumbstruck, "Aly, I…"

Alyssa continued. "Having your approval of my relationship with Chin, would mean the world to me. But let me be perfectly clear. I love him. It took me a while to admit this to myself, but I do. When I thought I was going to lose him," Alyssa took another deep breath and wiped away tears that were threatening to overflow her eyes. "I am not willing to lose what I have with Chin, but I am scared on how it will affect us; you and me. And how it will affect you and Chin being able to work together and Five-O." She looked directly into Steve's eyes that were now tender with compassion and understanding. "Please, Steve," she whispered, "please don't make me choose."

"Oh, Aly," Steve murmured as he pulled her into an embrace. "I have no right to approve or disapprove of what you do in your life, but if you want my support and acceptance, you got it. I'd never make you choose. Chin is a good man, one of the best men that I know. After what you both have been through in your lives, you two deserve happiness. I understand regrets and if you two can avoid them…," Alyssa looked up and saw a wave of sadness pass through Steve's eyes and then it was gone. She hugged him tighter and was rewarded when he hugged back. "I know we are new at this brother/sister thing," Steve said, but you know that you can tell me anything, right?"

Alyssa nodded into his chest, but her heart contracted, "Oh Steve," she thought, "I can tell you anything except those things that I can't. Those things that would make you hate me." She held on tighter comforted by his solid presence.

The moment passed and Steve smiled down at her, "C'mon. If I know the team, they are at the donuts already.

They were almost to the door when their cell phones beeped; Five-O had a case.


	3. Chapter 3

Dressed in dark jeans, tee-shirt and combat boots, wearing her vest with "Five-O" emblazoned on the front and back and her gun at the ready, Alyssa pressed her back against the wall of a large, luxurious-looking house and listened for Steve's command to move. The briefing was rudimentary at best, but she knew what she needed. HPD had asked for Five-O's tactical help dealing with a prostitution ring that was operating out of this house. The implication was that there was a possibility that this was a human-smuggling operation and that the "employees"; Alyssa allowed herself a quick sour smile, were under-aged girls.

Of all the things she'd seen as a cop and now as a detective, crimes against kids were by far the worst. She would have dearly loved to take on the human debris involved in this, but Steve had another job for her. She was to find the girls and keep them calm and safe. She hated the order, but had to admit it made sense – if these girls had been abused, they would probably react better to her then to any of the men. She took a deep breath, looked over at Grover with whom she was paired and prepared to move.

Momentarily she heard Steve's voice. "We go on three. Mind the Flash-Bangs." He meant the grenades that HPD would launch through the windows in order to create a diversion. Steve's voice came on again, "One. Two," She heard the shattering of the windows and the grenades exploding. "Three," Steve bellowed.

Grover kicked the back door open and Alyssa moved into the area in a low crouch, her gun at the ready. She scanned left and right. She heard scuffles off at the front of the house, but saw nothing that was an imminent threat. "Clear," she said. Grover motioned to the first of many doors and they repeated the process. Grover would kick the door open and she would enter first and scan. All the rooms appeared to be empty.

"What the hell?" Alyssa asked when the team met up again. Three men were arrested on "Resisting Arrest" charges and there were two well-dressed men who appeared to be tourists and who being questions as to the exact type of "Tourism" they were interested in. "There are no girls here."

"They knew we were coming." Steve's voice was flat. "Somebody leaked information."

Something was tickling the back of Alyssa's mind. Like Déjà vu. Something that she remembered. Something that she had been trying to forget for many years. "Wait," she said.

She drew her gun again and carefully walked toward one of the bedrooms in the very back of the house. The team exchanged looks, but they were not about to let Alyssa go on her own. They drew their side arms and followed her.

Alyssa's heart was beating so hard, she was sure everybody could hear it. It couldn't be. That was over ten years ago. Sure not, "Please, God. No," she prayed silently as she edged ever closer to the room.

The door that Grover had kicked open had now swung about half-way shut. Alyssa gently pushed it open, scanned the room for danger and walked in. She was drawn to the sliding doors of the closet against the right wall. Almost as if in a trance, she walked up to them and, with gun at the ready slid them open just a few inched and looked in. When she was assured that there was no one in the closet ready to jump out she opened the doors more and started to scan the floor. There. She knew it. Her heart sank as the implication of her being right hit her. It was that house. She was remembering correctly. Things that she had tried to forget for years and now she was faced with it.

She took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts away. She would need to deal with this soon, but not right now. She looked down at the trap door built into the floor of the closet. The rest of the team was crowding into the room. She motioned them to be quite and indicated that they should wait outside. Steve and Chin were not happy with this order, but they complied.

Alyssa holstered her gun, and opened the trap door. She could neither see nor hear anything. "Hey," she called into the darkness. "It's OK. You're safe now. You can come up." There was no reply, so she continued. "My name is Aly and I'm a friend. I'm here to help you. Please come up where I can see you."

This time, the response was some shuffling and what Alyssa thought was a stifled sob. "That's it," she encouraged. "Please let me help you." She heard creaking as feet started up the ladder. She looked over at the team and motioned the men to step away to avoid frightening whoever was coming up the stairs. She actually signaled for Kono to enter the room, but to stay back.

In a moment, she saw a small face appear. The girl could not have been more than fourteen. Alyssa held out her hand and, after a moment's hesitation the girl took it. After her came another girl, maybe sixteen. Followed by another, younger girl. Alyssa knelt amongst the girls who were quite, but clearly frightened. She had ascertained that the first girl was Amy, the sixteen year-old was Trish and the third girl was named Gabby. They were all wrapped in blankets against what was probably a damp and chill basement.

"This is my friend, Kono," Alyssa said as she motioned Kono to approach. "We are police officers and we want to help you. Would that be OK? Can we help you?"

"Will you take us home," Gabby asked.

"We will sure try," was the best that Alyssa could do and her heart broke for the little girl. "Kono and I would like to take you to the paramedics to have them just make sure that you are not hurt?" The inflection in Alyssa's voice indicated a question and the girls nodded. Kono and Alyssa escorted the girls out to the waiting ambulances but did not immediately leave as their presence seemed to calm the girls. As the paramedics gently removed the blankets, Alyssa noticed something around Trish's neck and gasped. Kono turned to stare curiously at her friend, but Alyssa was already moving toward the girl.

"No," Alyssa's brain was screaming. "Please no." She was able to hide her turbulent thoughts as she gently asked the girl to look at the necklace. Trish caught her breath as if forgetting that she was even wearing a necklace. With a shaking hand, Alyssa reached for it and her breath caught in her throat as she saw what it was. A small white flower pendant, a representation of an orchid, hung from a simple gold chain.

"Oh, no," was all that Alyssa was able to breathe as her world began to lose focus and her vision began to swim.


	4. Chapter 4

A hand on her shoulder roused Alyssa and she looked up into Kono's worried face.

"Are you OK?"

"Fine," Alyssa lied. "I think just the after effects of the adrenaline rush." Kono nodded although Alyssa was not sure that she believed her.

Alyssa looked back at Trish. Gently, so as not to frighten the girl, she asked. "This is pretty unique. Where did you get it?"

Trish shrugged. "All the girls have one. He gave it to us." When Alyssa looked at her encouragingly, Trish continued. "Mr. Chin. He gave it to us. He told us we were as rare and beautiful as the Orchid." The tone of her voice made it clear what she thought of those words in retrospect.

Alyssa had so many other questions for the girl, but the paramedic approached indicating that they needed to take the girls to the hospital to have them checked out. Alyssa nodded. She turned back to Trish and said. "You'll be in good hands. Just remember, my name is Alyssa Grant if you need anything."

By the time the team returned to the office and completed the required paperwork, it was after six at night and time to go home. Steve asked if she wanted to grab some dinner and Chin also texted asking if she was going to come by. Alyssa responded to both the men that she was exhausted and just needed to get home and that she would see them the next morning at the office.

Alyssa opened the door to her apartment and dropped her work bag on the floor by the door. She took of her gun and badge and put them in their usual drawer in her bedroom. She turned on the shower and walked to her kitchen to grab a beer. The water was hot and Alyssa stripped off her clothing and stood under the hot water for a long time as the scenes from the day's events played out behind her eye lids.

She hated lying to Steve, but he would never understand. He claimed that nothing would change how he felt about her, but she knew that could not be true. And Chin…God...what was she going to tell him? Alyssa rested her head on the cool tile of her shower as the water continued to pour over her.

Dressed in shorts and a tank top and with her hair wrapped in a towel, Alyssa took her beer and went into her bedroom. She pulled out one of the small drawers from her bureau taking out all the items in it and dropping them on top of the bureau. She reached into the back and pulled out a small manila envelope. She took it over to the bed and sitting down, reached into the envelope to get at the contents.

The first item was a newspaper article. It had been hastily torn out of the paper and had the ragged edges. It had been folded and unfolded so many times that the paper was nearly transparent along the folds. Alyssa's hand shook as she reached for the other item; a small white flower pendant on a thin gold chain.

She looked at the two items with tears in her eyes. She opened the newspaper article and read it again for probably the millionth time. "After losing his life in the line of duty, Officer Marcus Kyle of the Honolulu Police Department was laid to rest today. He is survived by his wife Patricia and their children Miranda and William." The date on the article was from over ten years ago and the picture showed a pretty young woman dressed in black, her face strained from fighting back tears along with two young children. They were sitting in front of a coffin and a police office in full dress uniform was offering the young widow the folded American flag. As with every other time she read this article, Alyssa's began to cry and tears ran down her face on to the comforter on her bed. "I am sorry," she sobbed, "so sorry."

As exhausted as she was by the events of the day and thanks to the beer that she drank, Alyssa drifted off to sleep. But then the dreams came.

She was sitting on the sidewalk in Honolulu trying to find shade under an awning of a store. Somebody spoke to her and asked her if she was hungry. She was – she could not remember the last time she had eaten. She looked up and outlined against the sun was a man. He was young, but older than her – maybe in his mid-twenties. He was handsome too dressed in jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. He had high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes, but he was not a native. The eye of somebody who grew up on the island was good at seeing differences and she thought that he was Japanese or perhaps Korean. He introduced himself as Mr. Chow and he bought her a burger at the nearby café. After she finished, he asked if she had somewhere to live and when she shook her head, he asked if she wanted a place. Mr. Chow took the young Alyssa to a large house and showed her to a room. He came back with a stack of clean clothes and showed her where the shower was. When Alyssa went to change, she noticed the pendant on top of the new clothes. "Because you are rare and beautiful like the Orchid," he had said later when she questioned him. Then he showed her what he expected from her.

The dream changed as it always did. She was lying on her bed in the room. She was lying on her stomach, her back too raw from the beating that she had received for running away. She heard noises from outside her room and screams from some of the other girls. She managed to get off the bed and run to the door. She opened it to see girls running down the corridor. In the opposite direction she saw Mr. Chow's men racing toward the main part of the house with their guns drawn. Somehow, she managed to creep after them to see what was happening. That's when she saw him; a police officer coming around the corner, with his gun drawn. But he sees her and hesitates and in that moment a gun goes off and the police office drops to the ground bleeding from a head wound. As she did then, Alyssa screams and that scream wakes her up at the same exact time as her alarm began to blare.

Alyssa walked into Five-O headquarters the next morning with a large cup of coffee. She waved at Chin who was already at his desk and popped open the door to Steve's office to say "Hi."

Steve looked up at her and his brows drew together in concern. "Are you OK," he asked.

"I'm fine," Alyssa tried to answer dismissively. "Just tired." When Steve continued to look at her inquiringly, she tried to smile, "I did not sleep to well last night." Steve just nodded.

"Hey. Have you heard anything more about the girls? Have they found their parents yet?" Steve looked up and shook his head. He was obviously distracted.

"Aly. That's not our case. Let HPD handle it. They will take good care of the girls. Five-O has a case and I need you one hundred percent on this."

Steve walked out to the main area and Alyssa followed him.

"Ok. Listen up. We have an assignment. I just got off the phone with the governor. We are moving a prisoner to a higher security prison. The governor feels we are the only ones who can do this." a sour smile, more like a grimace of distaste crossed Steve's face. "For obvious reasons," as he flicked on the central monitor and put up the picture of the prisoner. The team nodded in understanding when they saw the man they were to transport, but Alyssa looked and just gasped.

Everybody looked at her in surprise and she tried to cover her own chagrin, with a weak joke. "He looks so normal. Why would he need to be in Maximum Security?"

"That's right, Aly. You don't know this story as it all happened before you joined us," Steve said. "This is Wo Fat and he and Five-O go way back. There is not an illegal operation on the islands that he does not have has fingers in. The governor feels, and I agree, that Wo Fat needs to be moved away from the general population. We are going to do that."

Alyssa nodded numbly not taking her eyes of the image on the screen. Steve may say to her that this man was Wo Fat, but all she saw was Mr. Chow.


	5. Chapter 5

Alyssa stood staring at the screen and lost in her thoughts. After another moment she noticed that Steve was looking at her and she read a combination of curiosity and concern in his eyes. She looked up to meet his eyes praying that her look revealed nothing. Brother and sister stared at each other for a moment, until Alyssa had to look away from the intensity of Steve's gaze. Damn him. She felt that he could see right through her to the secrets that she was trying to hide.

"OK, folks," Steve said, all business now. We know that Wo Fat has informants everywhere. We will make the plans, but we will let the jail staff know an hour ahead of time to minimize chances of leaks. We have a three day window to move him from this Tuesday to this Thursday. Nobody will know until we move him.

Steve motioned to Kono who used her tablet to pull up a map of the island. I think that moving him early Thursday morning will be our best bet. Be ready to go by 5 am.

"By my count, there are at least four ways from the county jail to the prison. And there are options in each case. Again, we will be setting the path once Wo Fat is in our custody, so he will not have the ability to notify anybody. Here is what I think the best path is," Steve said tracing the roads in red. "It is not the shortest route, but it offers the fewest options for an ambush and gives us the best chance of defending against anything unforeseen.

Kono put up another graphic.

"Chin. You and Kono will take point. Grover and Aly you will be in the back. Danny and I will be in the transport itself. There will be three armed guards and we will be up front with the driver. Take a close look; make sure you remember all this." After a few minutes of intense studying, the team all looked up at Steve who nodded in satisfaction. "Ok, then. Any questions?" When there were none, Steve ended the meeting and the team dispersed to their desks.

Alyssa tried to work, but after a few minutes, she stood up, and walked to Steve's office. She felt more than saw, Chin's eyes following her as she knocked on Steve's door.

Steve looked up and motioned her to come in.

"What's up?" Steve asked, unable to keep concern out of his voice.

"What you said about Wo Fat...that he was involved with everything illegal on the island..." Steve nodded.

"Well, I was wondering, isn't it likely that he would be involved with the prostitution ring too?" Steve did not mean to, but he huffed in frustration as he looked up at his sister.

"Aly..," he started, but Alyssa interrupted him.

"That was a huge house with a ton of rooms. All the rooms were furnished and all of them looked lived in. Where are all the other girls? There should be at least one girl per room. Steve, those girls yesterday were taken from their families. There are probably others. We need to find them."

As sympathetic as Steve wanted to be to his sister, his focus was on transporting Wo Fat. "Aly," he said, exasperation evident in his voice. "There is zero evidence connecting him to this. Wo fat has been in jail for the last two years." Steve saw Alyssa wince at the tone of his voice and forced himself to speak more softly. "Aly, I understand that seeing those girls upset you, but this is not our case." He stopped speaking and looked at his sister speculatively. "Why are you so interested in this case? Why is this so important to you?"

Alyssa looked at Steve and he noticed a sad, haunted look in her blue eyes that he had not seen before. Suddenly, he was no longer a cop, but a concerned big brother. He came from behind his desk and squatted in front of Alyssa. "Hey," he said gently. "Talk to me. Please. What is going on?"

Alyssa opened her mouth, closed it. Opened it again and again shut it. She wanted to tell Steve everything. The whole secret, sordid story, but she did not dare. He would hate her. How could he not?

She forced a smile. "I guess it's just that I just feel really bad for these girls. I just want to help them," she said. She prayed that Steve would believe her, but by the look on his face, she was fairly certain he did not. He looked at her again, but then just shook his head and stood up even as she did.

"Aly," he tried one more time. "You really can trust me, you know."

"I know," Alyssa said lightly as she walked out and closed the door behind her. Steve stared at Alyssa's retreating back, then sighed and went back to work. He wanted to help her, but she had to trust him. She had to let him in.

Alyssa went to her desk. Again, she felt Chin watching her and her heart contracted in fear. What would happen if he found out about her past? Everything they had - it would all be gone. Alyssa suppressed a shudder as she turned and offered him a smile while she pulled her badge and gun from a drawer in her desk. She grabbed her keys and headed for the door. "I'll be back in about an hour," she said and walked out quickly, before anybody had a chance to stop her.

Alyssa sat in the parking lot of the County Jail trying to regain her composure. Her heart was racing and her hands were sweaty. The man she was going to see was a part of her past that she had desperately wanted to forget and now here it was staring her square in the face.

What she really wanted to do was to go back to the Five-O headquarters and forget about this whole thing, but she could not do that. She needed to find the other girls. She needed to prove that Wo Fat was responsible for the death of Officer Kyle. Alyssa took a deep breath and got out of her car.

She left her gun with the security guard and signed in. She walked into a meeting room with her gold Five-O badge prominently displayed on her belt. Another guard - his badge indicated that his name was Officer Marshall - brought Wo Fat, sat him down and made sure that the restraints were properly fastened to the floor.

Alyssa caught her breath as she looked at the man she had known as Mr. Chow. She remembered a young handsome man, but the person sitting across from her was terribly scarred with what looked like burns on one side of his face. She found the effect horrifying and it only added to the terror that she was desperately trying to keep under control. She had to force herself to not stare especially since the calculating and appraising look that he was giving her was making her very nervous.

Alyssa took a deep breath. "So they call you Wo Fat now? I seem to recall another name." She paused, took a deep breath, "You used to be called, Mr. Chow." Only the slighted flicker of the eyes betrayed the recognition of the name. "All right you bastard," Alyssa hissed, "where are they? Where are the other girls? I know there are more than the three?"

Wo Fat just smiled. A horrible, cold, reptilian smile that chilled Alyssa's blood. "They are where they have always been. I am sure that you have not forgotten your old home, Alice."

Alyssa's head flew up at that name. She had not used that hated name in more than ten years; not since...She glanced at Wo Fat and realized that he recognized her; he knew her to be one of the girls that he had originally recruited. Alyssa fought for control as her world started to spin. "My name is Detective Grant," she ground out. I would recommend you remember that as I will be the person testifying at your murder trial. "Alyssa was gratified to see that her words elicited a reaction as she saw the man clench his jaw in anger and did she see just a slight hint of fear in those eyes? "I'm done here," she called to the guard who slid open the metal door for her to pass through and who started remove Wo Fat's restraints.

But Wo Fat would still have the last word. "Tell your brother that I said hello," he called out after Alyssa. "Tell McGarret to stop by sometime. He and I have a lot to talk about." It took every ounce of Alyssa's willpower to continue walking as the man's maniacal laughter chased her down the hall.

When Alyssa was out of sight, Wo Fat turned to the guard and said, "Call the house and tell them that a Five-O detective is on her way. She will know the plans for the transfer and they can be," he stopped searching for the word, "creative in how they extract the information from that girl. They just need to be sure to leave no trace of her when they are done."

"Yes, Sir," the uniformed man nodded as he escorted Wo Fat into his cell and locked the door behind him. He then walked outside, reached for his cell phone and dialed. "Yeah, it's me, Marshall. Boss has an assignment for you..."


	6. Chapter 6

Alyssa tried to ignore the curious eyes that were fixed on her when she returned to Five-O headquarters. She chewed her lip, but said nothing; there was not much to say. She tried to focus on her work, but ended up staring unseeingly at her computer screen. By 5:15, she was ready to scream with anxiety and tension. She turned off her computer and prepared to leave. She had yet to say a word to any of the members and Chin was finding the situation intolerable.

When he saw Alyssa get up, Chin stifled a sigh, got up and followed her out. He briefly locked eyes with Kono who just shrugged. She had no idea what was going on with her friend either.

Alyssa headed to the locker room to get her bag and almost ran into Chin who was waiting outside, his bulk all but blocking the hallway. "Aly…," he started to say.

"Chin," Alyssa did not mean to plead, and yet that is what her word became – a plea.

"Aly. Please talk to me. I know something is wrong. Why are you shutting everybody out?"

"It's complicated. You wouldn't understand" snapped Alyssa.

"Try me," Chin said calmly refusing to move.

"It's none of your business. Its personal," Alyssa yelled in exasperation as she tried to push past Chin.

Instead Chin reached out with his right hand and grabbed her left wrist gently but firmly. He held her in place and began to inexorably pull her toward him while turning her around so they would be face to face. Alyssa tried to fight to break his grip, but her own body betrayed her – she wanted nothing more than what Chin was offering – a chance to be in his arms; to be safe and loved.

Chin pulled her in close, his left arm wrapping around her waist and his right hand caressing the arm he had been holding as he slid it up and placed it on the back of her neck with his fingers curled into the hair at the nape of her neck. Alyssa still struggled, but she knew it was just token resistance. She tried to speak, but Chin's mouth came down on hers claiming it in a fierce kiss. Alyssa did not mean to kiss back, but she melted into Chin's body as she returned the passionate kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Chin pushed a stray piece of hair away from Alyssa's eyes and bent down so that his lips brushed against her ear. "Aly. I love you. More than you can imagine; nothing will change that. Whatever it is, we can handle it together. Please," Chin whispered in her ear, "please let me help you."

Alyssa looked up into his face and wondered if those eyes would still look at her with so much love when Chin found out that she had worked for Mr. Chow and worse, that she was responsible for the death of a cop. She sighed and reached up to stroke Chin's face. He closed his eyes at her touch and the physical contact sent a thrill through her body.

"Chin," she started. "This is just something I need to take care. There is nothing anybody can do to help me. Let me just get through this and be done. I promise I will call you tonight and we can talk."

Chin did not like the answer, but from the determined look on Alyssa's face, he knew that this was the best he was going to get.

For some reason, he had a very bad feeling that the woman he loved was in trouble and in danger and that there was nothing he could do about it. In fact these thoughts were driving him crazy since he had promised both to himself and to Steve that he would do all in his power to protect Alyssa and now he knew that she would not permit him to do it. He nodded silently; it was all he could do. His arms tightened around Alyssa's waist again. "Whatever it is, just please be careful," he implored.

"I will be, I promise," Alyssa said with, what she hoped was, a reassuring smile. She reached up and planted another quick kiss on his lips, and when his arms relaxed, she slipped out and headed toward the exit.

Alyssa sat in her car for a long time. She gripped the steering wheel while the tears came. What the hell was she doing anyway? Why did she not just tell Steve and Chin? But she knew the answer to that – she was afraid. Afraid that instead of the love and concern she saw in their eyes now, she would only see hate and disgust. She needed to get to the girls that she knew were still working for "Mr. Chin", even if it ruined all the good things that were in her life now. She owed this to Officer Kyle.

Alyssa knew exactly where "home" was. She had lived there for almost a year. The young girls that Five-O rescued may be able to lead HPD to this place too, but there were in shock and it was not a sure thing that they would be able to find it at all. She drove on H1 until she reached Aiea, turning off on a small road leading into the wood covered hills. Finding a parking spot at a recreation area, Alyssa parked her car, locking her badge and gun inside and headed on foot on a path that she remembered as clearly as if she had walked it yesterday. The path meandered for about two miles, heading upward until she came to the open area on which a large plantation house stood. This had once belonged to some sugar baron or other, but had fallen into disrepair. Alyssa suspected that it had been purchased quietly and refurbished. It was off the path of tourists, hidden on a small path and surrounded by trees. Nobody would stumble on this place by accident.

Getting her phone out, Alyssa found a vantage point above the house and hidden by some hedges and settled in to observe. It was dusk and she thought that the activities would pick up soon. She saw young women, girls really, lining up on the veranda waiting for their assigned "Gentleman." Soon cars began to arrive and men would walk up the stairs, choose a girl and go inside. Alyssa took her phone and began to snap pictures.

She must have been very focused on her task because she almost jumped when she heard the familiar click of the safety being released from a semi-automatic pistol and felt the cold round barrel being pressed against the back of her head.

"Hands up, bitch," a gruff voice whispered. Alyssa dropped her phone into the foliage and raised her hands above her head. The man and his partner grabbed her roughly and pulled her with them. As she was pulled away, Alyssa was able to nudge her phone deeper under the bushes, where it lay.

Chin had been checking his cellphone every five minutes since seven o'clock waiting for Alyssa to call. By eight, he was concerned. By nine, he was worried. When he finally called her about 9:30 and she did not pick up, he was beside himself and trying not to panic. He continued to call her every few minutes, not knowing that her phone was now vibrating in the silence of the night under a bush near a house very few people knew existed.


	7. Chapter 7

Midnight. Chin lay in bed pretending to sleep. He had still not heard from Aly and his worry was eating a slow and painful hole in his gut. One more time he checked his phone and one more time he flopped back on his pillow in utter frustration.

At 5 am, he gave up and rolled out of bed to take a shower and go into the office. Maybe, Aly would be there and all would be well.

By 6 am, Chin was pulling into a parking spot at the garage. A moment later, Kono pulled into the parking spot next to him. The two of them walked to the door of the office together and were somewhat surprised that when Chin opened the door for Kono, light flooded out into the darkened hallway.

"What took you so long?" Steve asked as he turned away from the monitor to face his team. Chin and Kono noticed that Steve not slept well either, if the dark circles under his eyes were anything to judge by.

"Does anybody have any ideas on what the hell is going on with Aly?" Steve asked the other two.

"Since we found those girls, she's not been herself," offered Kono.

"Yesterday, she told me she had something she needed to take care; something about which she could not talk to me." Steve looked at Chin and inwardly cringed in sympathy at what it obviously cost the other man to admit that. "She was going to call and never did."

"She tried telling me something about the girls too," Steve admitted, with a sigh. "But I was too focused on Wo Fat."

"Damn it," Steve swore furiously. "Why couldn't she just talk to me? After all this, she still doesn't trust me? What the hell is that all about?"

"Steve," Kono's voice was firm, but gentle as she walked up to him and rested a comforting hand on his chest to stop his pacing. Unconsciously, Steve covered her hand with his own. "You know the life she's had…or at least part of it. Trust won't be easy for her. She's come so far already. This must be something that scares her badly."

Steve's eyes bore into Kono's looking for reassurance that she could not provide. After a moment, he broke eye contact and just nodded wordlessly.

"Let me see if I can locate her phone," Kono said walking over to the computer. The secured phones that Five-O used were not locatable using the normal tools and required a special set of codes. She started typing and Chin and Steve walked over to watch her progress. "That's strange," Kono muttered. "I can see her phone, but its on the other side of the island. The phone is in the Aiea forest. It seems to be working fine. "

"I'll stop and grab Danny and head over – I'll be there in two to three hours.," Steve said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "The spare key to Aly's apartment. You two – go there. Maybe you can figure out what is going on…and how we can help."

Alyssa cursed herself for the fool that she was. She had just about walked right into the arms of these two. And they were not being very welcoming. She was sitting in a chair with her arms pinned painfully back by tape. She bit back a cry as the smaller one hit her across the face. Tears came to her eyes from the pain and she tasted the coppery saltiness of blood as he split her lip.

"We know you're Five-O. We know you know the schedule. Tell us when the move to Maximum Security scheduled?

She could be mad at Wo Fat. He offered this up. He tricked her. He was smarter than she was. But she was only mad at herself and her own stupidity. One thing she knew for certain; one thing they had drilled into her head when she was preparing for her tour in Afghanistan – with enough "persuasion" everybody would reveal whatever secrets they had. Alyssa had no illusions about her ability to take a beating; sooner or later, she would tell them anything they wanted to know; just like ten years ago when she begged them to stop the whipping and told them when the police were going to raid the house. Her warning cost Officer Kyle his life and now she would give them the information that would enable them to ambush the Five-O team.

Alyssa's eyes flew open. "Oh, hell no," she growled to herself. Ten years ago she was a scared little girl. Now she was also scared, terrified even, but she knew with awful clarity what she needed to do. She would not put her whole team at risk because of her own stupidity. She formulated a plan - a poor one, but a plan nonetheless. She needed them to get angry at her; so angry that they would forget to ask the questions. So angry that they would beat her….until she was unconscious….or….dead.

As the larger thug approached her, she tensed and kicked up and out. Her aim…and her luck had were both true and she managed to land right between his legs. The man yelled, grabbed himself and doubled over. "You Bitch," he grated. You are going to pay for that. The smaller one grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him. She jerked back and bit his hand so hard she tasted blood. The man howled in pain as she spit the blood onto his shoes.

The first man struck her so hard, the chair tipped over. After that, Alyssa only recalled blows and pain until at some point, her head made hard contact with the concrete floor and after that was only blackness.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kono opened the door to Alyssa's apartment. "Aly?" she called. "Are you here?" When her call was met with silence, she and Chin walked all the way in and looked around. They saw nothing out of the ordinary in the Living Room and Kitchen and Kono headed for the bedroom.

Chin held back from entering. He knew he was being ridiculous, but it felt to intimate for him to go in without Aly's express invitation.

Kono went in to look around. She checked the desk and Chin heard her draw in a sharp breath of surprise.

"What's the matter," he asked.

"I think you had better come in and see," Kono said quietly.

She was sitting on the bed, staring at some items that she had spread out before her. Chin looked down and his heart skipped a beat. On the neatly made coverlet he saw one of the Orchid necklaces along with some newspaper articles.

"Did she take one of the necklaces from the girls?" Chin was trying to process what he was seeing.

"I don't think so," there was an odd note to Kono's voice. "Look at how old it is." She reached for the article and gasped. "Oh my God." Chin and Kono stared at the faded photograph. The girl was much younger, looked to have been abused and was trying to hide her tear-stained face. But there was no doubt – they were looking at Aly. She was being escorted (or was it protected?) by several HPD officers. Neither Chin nor Kono missed the flower necklace around her neck.

"She was one of them," Chin whispered, sitting down heavily. "No wonder she did not want to talk to me about it." He took a breath. "And she thinks this will change something? No wonder she's been acting like she has. Finding the girls must have brought everything back to her."

"Chin. It gets worse," Kono said, showing him the other article about Officer Kyle. "The poor kid. So much to carry around. We need to call Steve."

"No," Chin said. "This is not something to tell him over the phone. He needs to focus on finding Aly.

Kono looked like she wanted to argue, but eventually nodded her ascent.

"Lets get out of here," Chin said.

It took about an hour and a half for Steve and Danny to reach the Aiea forest. They were driving down the road when Steve stopped suddenly and pointed to Aly's car parked under some trees.

"She's here…or was."

They pulled over and tried to see where Alyssa might have gone. They saw the path leading upward and followed it hoping that it was the way that Alyssa had gone. Steve had his phone and was scanning for her cell. "I think this is right," he said. It seems like we are getting closer."

They stepped into the clearing and looked down on the house. Steve dialed Alyssa's phone again and listened. He heard a faint buzzing and following the sound extricated the device from under the bushes. "Aly, where the hell are you," Steve whispered looking around. He saw a car pull into the driveway below and both he and Danny crouched as a man exited the car and went inside.

Alyssa had no idea what time it was when she opened her eyes. The room swam and she had trouble focusing. She could not move as any movement caused her to gasp in pain. She heard voices raised in argument. She thought she recognized all three – the two thugs….and the third voice - recognition came like a lightning bolt- the guard from the jail..

"Morons," the voice yelled. "I needed the information and you killed her."

Alyssa heard footsteps approaching and lay still.

"Damn it," the voice swore. "Useless idiots. Now I have a dead cop and no information."

Alyssa heard the soft "phtt" of the silencer and heard two heavy thuds.

She closed her eyes as she heard footfalls that stopped right next to her head. She felt her arms being released from their bindings. Then she felt blinding pain as she was lifted roughly and tossed over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Although she bit her lip, Alyssa let out a moan of pain. She was finding it difficult to pull any air into her longs as every breath was agonizing. A few more moments of struggling against the encroaching darkness and Alyssa lost consciousness again as her battered and bruised body continued to be jostled.

Steve and Danny were watching as the man came out. He appeared to be carrying a mannequin...

"My God," Steve breathed. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing when the man walked to his trunk, opened it and dropped what Steve and Danny realized was a body. The man quickly got in and gunned the car down the driveway.

Steve would have run down the hill, but there was only a sheer drop and no way to get to the house. They needed to back track to their car if they had any hope of catching up with the driver.

"Is that…?" Danny never finished his thought since he had to follow Steve who was already running toward their parked car.

The car zoomed right in front of Steve and Danny as Steve got behind the wheel and Danny slid into the passenger side and they squealed out in pursuit. Danny was radioing for assistance as Steve, lips compressed and eyes hard, concentrated on the car in front.

The chase continued into the hills. At one point, Steve lost the car due to cross traffic; it was only a minute for the truck to pull out, but Steve cursed the loss of the precious moments.

The continued up the road more slowly looking into any potential hiding places and watching return traffic while praying there was no other way out. "There," Danny called out when he saw the car parked under some trees. The trunk was now open.

Guns drawn, the two men got out of the car and, carefully, approached the other vehicle. They saw the man standing by the edge of the hill looking down. "No," Steve whispered, unwilling to accept what he knew he was seeing.

The man turned around and started walking toward his car.

"Five-O! Get on the ground, now you Son of a Bitch." They approached the man now lying face down on the dirt. With his gun in his hand,. Steve felt that it was taking all his self- control to not shoot the man right then and there. He thought it would be better to let Danny handle the arrest. He holstered his gun and looked at his partner who nodded slightly.

"Go", was the only thing that Danny said.

Danny quickly disarmed the man and put cuffs on the prone figure while Steve bolted toward the edge of the cliff. When he looked down, sheer dispair drove him to his knees. At the bottom of the ravine – more than one hundred feet below- he saw her. Aly was face down on the soft moss and the only movement that Steve could see was her blonde hair wafting in the breeze.


	8. Chapter 8

If not for his years of training and discipline, Steve would not have been able to push the absolutely mind-numbing terror that he was feeling aside and approach the situation as logically and methodically as he could. He reached for his cell phone. "This is Commander McGarrett. I have an officer down. I need Mountain Rescue." He listened for a moment. "Yes, you can track my phone's location. We are in the Aiea Forest. It's a ravine about one hundred feet deep and about a 45 degree slope all the way down." More questions from the operator caused Steve to press his lips together and momentarily close his eyes. "No. I have no idea what her condition is." Another deep breath. "What's your ETA?" Steve nodded once as if the operator could see him and hung up.

Danny walked over to Steve and put a hand on his shoulder, offering what comfort he could to his friend as he too looked down and saw Alyssa. "I'm going down there," Steve said in a voice that did not invite discussion.

"And I suppose nothing I could say would change your mind?" Danny's tone was flat with disapproval. "Its over a hundred feet down...and what are you going to do when you get down there?"

Steve stood up and looked his partner in the eyes. He could not say the words, but Danny read it in his eyes. Steve needed to know is Alyssa was still alive. He could not stand helplessly and wait until help arrived; he needed to be doing something.

Danny sighed; he had known before he ever opened his mouth how it was going to turn out, but he still had to try. Steve returned to the car and opened the trunk. He took out a First Aid kit, but then put it back - Aly would need a lot more help than he would be able to provide.

Steve scrambled down the hill grabbing at tree trunks and branches. His heart was pounding from the effort, but mostly from the fear of what he would find when he reached Alyssa. When he reached her side, she was motionless and unresponsive and his breath caught in this throat with the thought that he was too late. However, he managed to control the shaking of his hands as he reached out to feel for a pulse.

At first he could not feel one and it felt as if his own heart had stopped. Then, as his own heart slowed down he felt the slightest fluttering against his fingertips. It was very weak, but it was there; she was alive! He listened for her breathing and found it to be shallow and irregular It sounded to him like she was gasping and struggling for each breath she took and he really did not like the wheezing, whistling sounds each time she did.

"I'm sorry, Aly," he whispered. "I am so sorry that I wasn't there to keep you safe like I promised. Why couldn't you tell me what was going on with you? Maybe I could have helped; maybe I could have kept this….," his eyes swept the surroundings, "…this…from happening." Steve took a deep breath and reached out to gently stroke her hair, "But I am here now. Whatever it is, I'm here and I will not be going anywhere. We'll deal with it. We will get through this together; you and me. But now, I just need for you to hold on – help is coming and we will get you out of here." Steve looked at the hand that had been stroking Alyssa's hair and worry flared anew as he saw it was sticky with blood.

Another minute and Steve heard voices and felt a shower of small rocks, as two paramedics slid down toward him. Between them they carried a back-board and a collapsible stretcher.

The paramedics quickly and efficiently placed a "C" collar around Alyssa's neck. Steve then came forward and together the three of them turned Alyssa over onto the back-board making sure she was immobile to minimize the chance of further injury. Steve helped the paramedics carry the stretcher up the hillside.

Once they had reached the top and the paramedics, realizing the extent of her injuries, called the Med-Evac helicopter while they worked feverishly to stabilize her. Steve stood back so as not to interfere with their life-saving efforts. For the first time, he saw the full extent of the suffering that had been inflicted on his sister. Her eyes were almost swollen shut, and there was caked blood on her nose. Her lips were dry and cracked, and Steve became even more concerned when he saw the bubbles in the blood that was trickling from Alyssa's mouth in a continuous stream. Every visible part of her body was covered in bruises and various types of abrasions. She was having trouble breathing which was only slightly improved by the mask that was placed over her nose and mouth.

Steve stood by, feeling helpless and overwhelmed with a cold fury that he was barely able to control. Whoever was responsible for what was done to Alyssa, was going to pay.

The paramedics were putting in an IV when they heard the rotors on the helicopter. There was no room to land, so a rescue basket was lowered down. Alyssa was gently placed into the basket and the winched into the helicopter. Steve wanted to come with her, but was waved off as the extra seat was needed for the paramedic. "Queen's Medical Hospital Trauma Center," the paramedic yelled at Steve as he rode the basket up with Alyssa.

Steve watched as the helicopter cleared the trees on its way to the hospital. Without thinking about it, he moved toward the car. Danny was faster and slipped into the driver's side. "You are in no shape to drive." Steve did not even argue as he dropped heavily into the passenger seat.

Now that he was no longer focused on Alyssa, a terrible thought came to him. "Chin. I need to tell Chin and Kono." Steve reached for his phone and dialed. For a moment, he considered making it easier on himself and calling Kono, but knew even as soon as the thought crossed his mind, that he owed more than that to Chin. He dialed the number and almost flinched when Chin picked up on the first ring.

"Yes," Steve said. "We found her and we are on the way to Queen's Medical Trauma Center." Steve listened for a moment and closed his eyes as if in pain. "No, Chin, we don't know how bad it is, but I think you and Kono need to get to the hospital as soon as you can…." Steve hung up the phone and watched the road as Danny sped back down the hill and out on to the H1 toward the hospital.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chin hung up his phone and stared straight ahead as he continued driving. Kono sitting next to him, had watched his face change as he spoke with Steve. First there was relief - they must have found Aly. But then she watched his face become bleaker, as Steve provided details. Now she watched her cousin's face with concern. It was so still and hard that it could have been cut from granite. His stony silence scared her even more. He had lost so much already, what would happen if..., "no," she told herself. She would not even think about that possibility. Chin could not lose Aly. None of them could. .

"Chin," Kono said hesitantly. Chin did not react. "Chin," this time Kono was louder and more insistent and she put a hand on his knee to get his attention. "This is not like...I mean, Aly is not like..."

"No," Chin said in a hollow voice, "she's not like Malia. Alyssa is going to make it." Then much more quietly, almost like a prayer, "She'll make it." Kono was not sure, but she thought she heard Chin whisper one more time almost under his breath, "She has to make it."


	9. Chapter 9

Steve did not even wait for Danny to stop the car; once he was within a few fight of the emergency entrance to Queen's Medical Trauma Center, he opened the door and jumped out, leaving Danny to park the car. Steve noticed that the Medevac chopper was on the helipad with its rotors still spinning – the paramedics must have brought Alyssa in not more than five or ten minutes ago.

Steve ran into the waiting area and immediately set his sights on the administration desk. "I'm Commander Steve McGarret ," he said as soon as he was close enough that he did not have to raise his voice. "One of my officers, Alyssa Grant, was brought in no more than ten minutes ago. I need to know how she is doing."

The intake nurse, looked up from her computer. "I am sorry, but I have no information on Officer Grant at this time." The voice was professional, but not cold; she spoke with a generic compassion that was calculated to calm concerned friends and relatives – it was not working on Steve.

"Please," he continued. "Alyssa is my sister."

The nurse looked up at Steve again and while her eyes may have softened in sympathy, her voice and response remained the same. "I am sorry, Commander, but currently there is nothing that I can tell you. The trauma surgeon is in with Officer Grant and is doing an assessment. I am sure that he will be out as soon as he can and will provide you an update on her status." It was obvious that there was no information forthcoming so Steve turned away and headed for the bank of chairs to join the rest of those waiting for news.

Just as he turned around, Steve caught sight of Danny running through the sliding doors, followed closely by Kono and Chin. A questioning look from Chin and the slightest shake of Steve's head was the only communication between the team. Nobody had anything to say that would in any way improve what was happening.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The four had been sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chairs for about thirty minutes when the doors leading to the operating rooms opened and a woman in stained scrubs walked out. She stopped to speak to the intake nurse, speaking low. The nurse listened carefully, nodded and looked over to where the Five-0 team was seated. She nodded once and headed over to them.

Kono was the first one to notice the surgeon approaching. When she stood up, it alerted the others. Both Steve and Chin almost catapulted from their chairs and reached the doctor at almost the exact same moment. Steve opened his mouth to ask the question, but Chin was quicker. "Is she…," he started to ask.

The green clad surgeon introduced herself. "I'm Doctor Watkins. I've been assessing Officer Grant's condition. Let's go sit down and I will bring you up to speed," the surgeon said in a professional, but compassionate voice. She was used to frantic families and the desperate, haunted look that she saw on the faces of both men was something with which she was familiar.

She led the way back to where Chin and Steve had been sitting and waited until they sat down again before speaking. "You all know that Officer Grant suffered some very severe injuries, some of which are life-threatening. Do you have any information on how she received those injuries?"

Steve was the first to speak, "Doc. Officer Grant…Alyssa, is my sister. She was kidnapped, beaten, and then thrown down that ravine. Officer Williams and I found her…" Steve looked at the doctor and said very quietly, as if to himself only, "but we were too late. I was too late." Steve was lost in his thoughts for a moment and did not realize that he had spoken aloud until he felt a small hand slide into his. He briefly wondered at the intimacy of the contact and whether or not it was appropriate given the presence of Adam in Kono's life, but he was glad of the physical contact and grateful for her strength and support. He squeezed gently and felt Kono's squeeze in response.

The surgeon did not appear surprised by Steve's information – undoubtedly because in her position she had seen such cruelty and abuse before. She took a breath and continued. "We have assessed Officer Grant's condition and will be taking her up to surgery very shortly. She is being prepped now and I wanted to come out to give you an update. We know she has several broken ribs and that both her lungs have been punctured. We believe, that both are in a state of collapse or semi-collapse which obviously compromises her breathing. She has several broken bones, including her left arm which we believe was caused by whoever beat her, and her clavicle which was probably caused by the force of her rolling down the hill." The doctor took a deep breath. "Officer Grant also has a linear skull fracture on the back of her head, but what is of the greatest concern to me is the depressed skull fracture on the right side of her head. I am concerned about a subdural hematoma as well as potential damage to her brain."

When the doctor finished the litany of injuries, the team sat silent, attempting to absorb the magnitude of the damage done to their youngest member.

"Doctor. What are her chances?" Chin's voice appeared calm, but Steve, who knew him so well, heard the tension and the fear in his voice. He knew the effort that his friend was expending to maintain that iron control. Steve's heart contracted with guilt. He had been so focused on his own feelings, he had not given any thought to Chin. He reached out and placed a hand on Chin's shoulder. "Alyssa'll be OK. She'll make it." Steve looked at Doctor Watkins, his eyes begging for her confirmation, "She will be OK, right Doc?"

The doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. She did not want to give false hope, but she did not want these people, who obviously cared about the young woman in her operating room, to give in to despair. She took a deep breath. "I have seen some people with worse injuries recover fully. Not many, but some. Officer Grant seems to be a fighter, so I think there is some reason for optimism." She made a point to meet the eyes of all the team members, willing them to believe her. The loud beeping of her pager brought her focus back. "Officer Grant has been prepped and they are taking her up to Surgery now. It will be a couple of hours at least." Doctor Watkins surveyed the faces around her. "I will take very good care of Officer Grant...of Alyssa and I will send a nurse out to keep you updated. Excuse me, please." She turned on her heel and headed back through the swinging doors.

Steve looked at the surgeon's retreating back for a few moments and then turned to the rest of the team. "We will find who did this to Alyssa and they will pay."

Danny, who had been silent up to this point, spoke up. "HPD picked up the guy who...," he coughed awkwardly and changed tack. "I told them to drop him into the deepest darkest hole they could find and that we would get to him when we could. HPD had heard about Alyssa and they had no problem taking extra special care of this animal." Steve nodded in grim satisfaction and Danny continued. "CSU is also going through the house and through Alyssa's phone for clues and they will have a report as soon as possible.

Steve turned to Chin and Kono. "Did you two find anything at Alyssa's apartment?"

Chin and Kono exchanged looks and Kono spoke for both of them. "Yeah. We found something. Steve, we are not sure exactly what it means..."

"Just show me," Steve said with a resigned sigh. He was so numb and so exhausted that nothing was going to affect him anymore.

Kono sighed too. "We found these on Aly's bed," she said, handing Steve the orchid pendant and the newspaper clipping.

Steve stared at the two items in Kono's hands and his face became even more pale, if that was possible. He did not realize that he had sat back down, "My God," he whispered, as he ran his hands over his face. "My God."


	10. Chapter 10

Steve felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Chin. "She was just a kid," Steve said. "I knew that she had it rough growing up, but I had no idea...My God...what she must have gone through." Steve shook his head. "God. I wish she could have trusted me..." Steve took a deep, if slightly shaky breath and lapsed into silence, still staring at the pendant and the newspaper article as if these items could help him make sense of what happened to his sister.

The time dragged by as other patients were brought in, followed inevitably by distraught family and friends. But none of it seemed real to the team as they sat and waited and watched the clock move and the world outside the waiting room get darker. Periodically one of them would get up stretch, walk around, and try to start a conversation, but then quickly give up and sit back down again.

Normally, this type of forced inactivity would hit Steve the hardest, but he seemed resigned to sit and wait until the nurse came out to inform them all of Alyssa's fate. This time it was Chin, who suddenly burst out of his seat, after sitting motionless for more than an hour. "I need some air," he said in a strangled voice and quickly headed out through the sliding doors.

The unexpected motion roused Steve and he made a move to follow his friend. "No," Kono's voice rang out. "Let him go." Steve looked at her and even though his mind was full of worry for Alyssa, he noticed the worry in her brown eyes; a worry that was no longer just for Alyssa. Steve found Kono's concern contagious. He knew that waiting and not knowing was driving him crazy – this must be damn near killing Chin. Kono was still standing by her chair, as if deciding which way to turn. He gave her the tiniest of smiles – it was all he had, and a bare nod. She nodded back, turned and ran through the doors in search of her cousin.

At first, Kono feared that Chin had driven off, but a quick glance assured her that their car was still in its parking place. Not sure where to go to look for her cousin, Kono followed the path that took pedestrians around the building housing the trauma center to the hospital wing.

She quickly spotted Chin. Her cousin was leaning against the wall in a secluded part of the walk. His eyes were closed and his head tilted backwards resting against the stucco. His face was a mask of pain and his chest was rising and falling rapidly as if he had just completed a run.

Chin must have either heard or sensed her approach and he opened his eyes. Kono noted that his eyes were full of despair as Chin spoke in a hollow voice that she was completely unaccustomed to hearing. "I had to get out," Chin said. "I was just sitting there, thinking of Aly on that operating table...of what maybe was happening to her." He took a deep breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob and went on, "I started thinking that she may not make it and that I'd never see her again." He closed his eyes again, the pain evident in his voice.

"I watched Malia die. My wife...," Chin's voice failed him completely. He looked up in an effort to hide the tears that filled his eyes. This effort failed and they slipped down his cheeks. "My wife died in my arms...I don't think that I can..." Visibly struggling for control Chin pushed away from the wall and turned away from Kono who helplessly watched her cousin's battle. She desperately wanted to go to him and to hold him until the pain went away, but nothing could take the pain of losing Malia away and there was very little she could do right at that moment to reassure him that Aly would be alright. Eventually, Chin was able to speak again. He turned to face Kono and whispered. "I'm afraid, Kono. Hell. I'm terrified. I can't lose Aly. I can't go through that again."

Kono's heart was breaking and in a moment of utter clarity, she realized that, no, Chin would not be able to go through another loss such as Malia's. Losing Aly...she physically shuddered as that possibility, remote as she prayed that it was, crossed her mind – would be unbearably painful for everybody. But she knew with certainty that it would probably literally kill Chin.

She had always thought that her cousin was one of the strongest men she knew, but even strong men reach a breaking point and Chin was near his. He was looking at her, his eyes begging for some type of reassurance. She reached out and took both his large hands in hers and, looking unflinchingly into his eyes, said with more certainty than she actually felt, "You heard the doctor as well as I did," she said gently, but very firmly. "Aly is and has always been a fighter. She's not going to stop fighting now. What you need to do, is to give her one more reason to fight."

Chin looked at his cousin and Kono could see him relaxing. Somehow, she had hit on exactly the right thing to say to him. The fear and worry were still in his eyes, but he seemed to stand straighter and there was also new resolve in his face. Chin even managed a small smile. "Thanks, Cuz," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her into a hug that she gladly returned.

A quick look told Kono that Chin was not yet ready to return to the waiting room as his face was still haggard with worry and eyes were still bright with unshed tears. "You have the car keys?" She asked. When Chin nodded, she continued, "It will be a couple of hours yet, lets go get food and coffee. Nobody wants the stuff that the hospital has." Chin, understanding perfectly what she was doing, nodded gratefully.

Five and a half hours had passed since the doctor had promised that she would take good care of Alyssa. The nurse had come out at the three hour mark, but had nothing to report other than the doctor was still working and that Alyssa was holding her own. The food was in the take out bags, essentially untouched; the coffee had all been drunk. The team was taking turns surreptitiously looking at the clock as the time very slowly moved toward the six hour mark.

Every time the doors to the operating rooms opened, the entire team looked up and every time it was somebody other than Dr. Watkins, they would look away with a mixture of disappointment and an odd sense of relief that they would not yet need to deal with the outcome of Alyssa's time in surgery.

Finally, when the clock on the wall indicated that Alyssa had been in surgery for six hours and seventeen minutes, Dr. Watkins walked out into the waiting room. She approached the team and four pairs of eyes focused on her face, looking for any indications of the outcome. When the doctor permitted herself a very brief and tired smile, the sense of relief was palpable.

Steve stood to face the doctor. "Doctor?" Just one word. But filled with all the questions that he and the team had. Dr. Watkins took a breath and began. "Officer Grant...Alyssa," she said looking at Steve, "did as well as I could have hoped. The surgery took longer than I had anticipated because the internal damage was somewhat worse." At the concerned looks, she explained. "Either the beating or her fall down the ravine caused more internal bleeding than I had anticipated, but it has been addressed. Her broken bones have been set. Her ribs have been bound and should begin to heal now that they are set. The tears in her lungs that caused the collapse have been sewn up and her lungs are now inflated. She will be using a respirator and a tube for a while to help her breathe as she heals, but I would anticipate being able to remove it once she is stronger. My concern remains the two fractures to her skull. WE have done what we could, but any long term damage will not be known until Alyssa wakes up. She is under heavy sedation to help manage her pain and minimize the chance of her brain swelling."

"So she will be OK?" Chin asked.

"I believe that Alyssa falls into that category that I mentioned of the very seriously injured that make full recoveries. The next forty-eight hours will be key, but if she makes it through, I believe the odds are in her favor."

"Can we see her?" The relief was palpable in Steve's voice.

"She will be in the ICU for the next forty eight hours. You can visit for a few minutes, once she has been settled in. A nurse will come get you."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Another hour passed and a nurse in scrubs came to inform the team that they could see Alyssa. They would be brought to the ICU two at a time. Steve was anxious to see his sister, but one look at Chin's face, made his decision for him.

"Chin. You and Kono go see Aly first."

Chin opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it and just nodded as he and Kono followed the nurse.

Once they arrived at the ICU, Chin stood at Aly's bedside. He had not seen her when she had come in and was glad for that small favor. Truth was, she still looked terrible. She was covered in bruises and abrasions. She had a cannula for oxygen and a breathing tube. Her arms were covered with tubes and IVs for monitoring and medication. There was no room for a chair, so he knelt by her bedside, gently wrapped his fingers around her unmoving hand and whispered in her ear. "I love you Alyssa Grant and I will be here when you wake up. Rest now and get well. We have a lot of living to do, you and I." He very gently kissed her hand and stepped away to let Kono spend a minute with her.

"Hey Kaikaina. You gave us a scare. But you are safe now. We are all here and you'll be OK." Kono gave her hand an extra squeeze and stepped out of the way. She knew that Chin wanted to stay longer, but they both had wordlessly agreed to be quick so that Steve could be with Alyssa as soon as possible.

The nurse walked Chin and Kono back and had Steve and Danny follow her into the ICU. Danny respectfully stood back to give Steve his privacy with his sister. Steve took Alyssa's hand in his and found it jarring how small and fragile it really was. He has seen her in the hospital before, but this level of injury and hurt was new to him. He felt the same rage that he felt when he was waiting for the paramedics and he suppressed it, planning to use its energy at a later time.

Steve bent over the silent form. "Aly. I'm here. I am so sorry that I was not there to protect you, but I am here now. You are my family and we will deal with this together. You will be fine, I swear it." He held her hand for another minute. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and bent down to brush his lips on her forehead. He stood up and walked out of the ICU.

They met back in the waiting room.

Steve was all business; his worry for Alyssa shuffled into one compartment and his thoughts laser focused.

"We owe it to Aly to figure this out. Whatever it is that she could not tell us ...we need to find who did this and we need to make sure they pay for this."

"Danny," Steve continued. "Get the reports from CSU on the house. See how it relates to anything including those girls we rescued." Danny nodded. "Kono, can you see if you can find more information on this case," Steve pointed to the newspaper article. "There has to be more information here that somehow connects to what is happening."

Steve looked at Chin and the men shared a look of understanding; of hope and fear and iron determination.

"Chin. How about you and I head to HPD and do some interrogating?" Chin showed his teeth, but it could hardly be called a smile.

The team was determined. It was obvious in the set of their faces and in the focus in their eyes. Steve did not need to say it. The whole team was thinking the same thing – whoever messed with Alyssa messed with the entire Ohana and there was going to be hell to pay.


	11. Chapter 11

As it was only late afternoon, the team decided to start their investigation immediately. Danny and Kono headed to Five-O to gather the information and Steve and Chin got into his car to go to HPD headquarters to speak to the man who had thrown Alyssa into the ravine.

Steve and Chin drove in silence for a while. "I'm thinking that normally Danny acts as a bit of a moderating influence on your...interrogation technique," Chin said with an ironic twist of his lips. "I am not..., Chin hesitated, "...inclined to moderate anything. I want to tear the bastard apart."

Steve looked at the hard set of his friend's face and said nothing. He thought that perhaps he would need to be the moderating influence to keep Chin from killing the man.

When Chin and Steve arrived at HPD headquarters, they were faced with flashing lights from police cruisers and an ambulance. They then saw Dr. Bergman and an assistant pulling a gurney from a van. The men exchanged glances, jumped out of the car and ran toward the Medical Examiner.

"Dr. Bergman, what the hell is going on here?" demanded Steve.

"Commander McGarrett," said the doctor in his usual unperturbed tone, "it appears that there may have been...," he hesitated, "an unfortunate accident in one of the holding cells."

"I don't like how that sounds," Steve growled. "We're coming with you," he said as he and Chin followed the Medical Examiner into the bowels of the HPD headquarters building.

Dr. Bergman led the way to the holding cells. This particular one was away from the others in an isolated part of the building. The location was perfect if there was a prisoner that needed to be kept "out of the way" for a while, but unfortunately it apparently was also great for unobserved "accidents"

In this case, the man, who Steve immediately recognized from that morning, was lying face up in a pool of quickly congealing blood. The cause of death was obvious as the man's left Carotid Artery was cut open. He would have died within minutes from loss of blood. But how would somebody have gotten to him and, how would they have left after being covered in the spraying blood?

"Dammit," Steve fumed. "How the hell did this happen? Doc. When was he killed?"

Dr. Bergman looked up from his grisly work, "Based on liver temperature, I believe that he died no more than five or six hours ago, Commander."

"Right after he was brought in," Chin noted. "He could have been our connection to who is responsible, and somebody took care of it. Who has that type of power? Any chance that there is video of this cell," Chin continued, looking at the slightly nauseous looking uniformed officer that had come down there with them. The cop shook his head.

"No videos, Lieutenant. This is the old part of the jail. We never had the funding to hook it up."

Chin nodded, trying to not let his frustration show. The uniforms did just as Five-O had asked them. Somebody was just a step ahead of them.

"Ok, Chin. Let's go," Steve sighed. Let's leave the doctor to it. Doc," he said and Dr. Bergman looked up. "I need to know who this guy is ASAP. First thing I need is to know if he is in the system and who he is."

Seeing as how this foray had been a total failure, Steve and Chin headed to the car to return to Five-O headquarters.

"OK, Danny. What do you have?" were Steve's first words, the moment he and Chin walked through the doors. Danny was standing by the wall screen and his expression was not calculated to make Steve feel any better.

"CSU swept the house," Danny started and put a series of stills, from the Forensics team. "They found some scared girls hiding in their rooms. They found a few very embarrassed and underdressed businessmen, and they found this…," Danny put up different photos on the screen. Two men, obviously dead lay on the floor of a room with a stone floor. A broken chair lay in one corner. There was no other furniture. "CSU thinks that this is the room where Aly was…," Danny looked at Steve and did not miss his partner's wince. A quick glance at Chin showed a hard stoney look with no emotions whatsoever – Chin's typical way of dealing with the ugliest aspects of his job. Danny coughed and continued, "We think that this is where Aly was being held. The two stiffs were shot at close range. Not quite execution style, but close. Somebody is cleaning up after themselves," he finished with the same frustration that was written across Steve's and Chin's faces.

"So we have nothing," Steve stated. "No clues. No witnesses."

"Not quite," Kono burst into the office, her tablet clutched firmly. She walked over to the screen. "I took the article that Aly had and used that as a starting point. Apparently this prostitution ring was quite the case about ten years ago." She cast an apologetic look at Steve and Chin, but she went on. "Lots of underage girls, high rolling clients, influence peddling…you name it. And at its center, was Mr. Chow. All the girls knew him, only a few had seen him. Aly was one of the…," Kono stumbled over her words, "…lucky ones. He was mostly a phantom. The Police had no picture or fingerprints, but I found this." She flipped her tablet and a grainy picture appeared on the screen. It was poor quality and clearly old. It showed a man turning away from the camera so only half of his face was visible. There was something discomfitingly familiar about the photograph.

Kono spoke again as she began to fiddle with the picture. "This was impossible even ten years ago, but now; I can clarify and enhance the image." The picture came into focus and there was a collective gasp from the three men. Even with only half a face, it was clear. The man in the picture; the man that Alyssa called Mr. Chow, was none other than Wo Fat.

"God Damn it," Steve swore. "Aly tried to tell me. I just didn't listen." He then changed focus. "He was never charged with anything, was he?"

Kono shook her head. "I am going to have a chat with a couple of the cops who worked this case back in the day. I am sure they will remember more than what's in the paper. From what I gather, Mr. Chow," she rolled her eyes in disgust, "disappeared right around the time his trial was supposed to start. There was not a lot of appetite in finding him. The implication was that many of the clients," another eye roll, "were happier to leave it alone. And some of the clients were high up in the government or very wealthy so the case jus fizzled away."

"And the dead cop," Chin was incredulous. "Just like that. They did nothing?"

Kono just shrugged. "I hear ya, Cuz, but it was a different time. A Cop's life was just not worth that much, when compared to the high and mighty." Her voice was bitter.

"And the girls? Girls like Aly?" Steve asked. He knew that Hawaii had had a long history of corruption at one time, but now face to face with it, he was feeling physically sick.

Kono shrugged. "The paper does not say what happened to them. Either the reporters didn't know, didn't care or they were trying to protect the witnesses."

Steve just grunted. Then his phone rang. He picked up and listened and the team watched as his blue eyes became ice cold and hard with anger and focus. "Thanks, Doc," was all Steve said as he hung up the phone. "The guy in the HPD holding cell…his name was Greg Marshall. He was prison guard…and his assigned prisoner was Wo Fat."


	12. Chapter 12

Steve was exhausted both physically and emotionally, but sleep would not come. He tossed and turned in his bed thinking over everything he had learned that day about Aly, about what she had to endure ten years ago as well as within the last forty eight hours, and most of all, he thought about the fact that Wo Fat was involved in all of it. Steve flopped over in his bed with a feral growl. He had enough discipline to force his brain and his body to relax and rest for a few hours, but just as the first light was breaking over the horizon, he was out of bed. In fifteen minutes, he was dressed and ready for his run.

Today he ran harder and longer than he had for a while. He needed to feel the exhaustion and the pain; needed it to cleanse him of his anger and fear so that he could focus. He ran long and hard for more than ninety minutes and when he felt that his legs were turning to rubber and that his lungs were ready to explode, he finally stopped. As he rested, bent over, dripping with sweat, and resting his hands on his knees as he worked to catch his breath which was coming in great painful gasps, he tried to focus his mind as he had been taught to do.

He was still angry. Angry at whoever was responsible for hurting his sister. Angry at Alyssa for not trusting him enough to tell him what was happening and for getting herself in a situation in which she could have been killed. But most of all, he was angry at himself for failing to protect her the way that he had vowed to do.

The buzzing of his cell phone interrupted his musings. Steve did not recognize the numbers. "McGarrett," he snapped.

"Commander McGarrett, this is Doctor Watkins." Steve's blood ran cold and his heart skipped a beat.

"Is Aly OK?" he asked.

"She had a relatively peaceful night," the doctor started. "I just wanted to give you an update before I left on my day off. "She is running a fever which is quite common after surgery. We will be moving her to a private room later today, so you will be able to spend time with her.

"Thank you, Doctor," Steve said. "I have...," he paused looking for the word to describe his interview with Wo Fat.,"...meeting. I have a meeting this morning, but should be at the hospital no later than eleven."

"Very good," the doctor said. "Doctor Landers will be taking care of Alyssa while I am away, but I will leave my cell number in case you need me."

"Thank you, Doctor," Steve said again. He headed off for home.

Within twenty minutes, he was showered, dressed, and in his car on the way to the office.

Steve and Danny walked into the jail just as the new shift was coming on duty. The Officer of the Watch checked their identification and waited while Steve and Danny stored their guns in the available lockers. They were preparing to sign the log book when Steve thought to check a few pages back. Halfway down the previous page, both men saw Alyssa's name.

The men exchanged looks, but said nothing as the guard opened the door and let them in. They walked into interrogation room that had been set aside and sat down to wait.

"Am I going to need to restrain you," Danny asked Steve. The look on his face was deadly serious, although the tone was light.

"I really want to kill the Son of a Bitch," Steve growled, "but I'll be on my best behavior. I need information from him more."

"My two favorite people," purred the familiar silky voice. "McGarrett, how is your family."

Danny cast a look at Steve. The man's lips were pressed together and his eyes were as cold and hard as he had ever seen them.

"We both know that Officer Grant was here," Steve ground out. She came looking for the rest of the girls. You sent her into a trap. She almost died. Why?"

Wo Fat sat back in the chair and looked at the two men.

"I merely answered her questions. I have no knowledge of where she went or what she did.

"You had Wallace killed." Steve continued.

Wo Fat looked at him without comment.

"We know you were Mr. Chow ten years ago and that you are Mr. Chin now. Only half a lie - Steve had not known about Mr. Chin.

"But if you had proof, you would not be here talking," Wo Fat countered.

Danny again checked his partner. The responses were intended to infuriate Steve. He was worried that if Steve was pushed over the edge, he would not be able to hold him back.

Steve took a deep breath, "I think we're done here." He stood up to leave and Danny followed.

"Do give my best wishes to your sister, Alice." The smirk in Wo Fat's voice was obvious.

Steve stopped, turned and looked back at the man he hated more than anybody in the world.

Seeing Steve's confused look, Wo Fat went on. "Alice Foster. That is what her name was then. I think she has changed it since then. I wonder why?" he taunted. "She was special to me once...very special," the leer on his face made his meaning plain even if the words were somewhat obscure.

Steve continued to look at Wo Fat. A muscle in his jaw twitched and his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles had turned white. Danny looked on worriedly expecting Steve to lunge for the other man; he was prepared to intervene, but knew that he would not actually be able to stop his partner. But Steve, took several deep breaths, pivoted on his heal and headed out the door. "Put the bastard back where you found him," Steve shot over his shoulder to the surprised guard.

Steve walked into the hospital and asked for Alyssa Grant's room. The charge nurse checked her computer. "Please take a seat," she said. "Dr. Larkin will be with you shortly."

"Is she OK?" Steve wanted to know, but the nurse just repeated her response. Steve decided that arguing would be futile and sat down to wait.

Luckily, the doctor came into the waiting area only a few minutes later. Steve saw the name tag and immediately stood up. The doctor walked over, his hand outstretched and Steve shook it. "I'm Dr. Larkin, Commander McGarrett. Would you please follow me? I'll take you to see your sister."

As promised, Alyssa was in a private room in the Critical Care Unit. As far as Steve was concerned she did not look any better. In fact, her cheeks were flushed in an otherwise pale face and there was a light sheen of perspiration on her forehead and upper lip. Steve immediately pulled up a chair next to her bed and took her hand in his while the doctor spoke.

"Officer Grant...Alyssa is suffering from a fairly typical post-operative infection. We are giving her antibiotics. We have her on several pain medications as well as a strong sedative. She has some swelling at the site of the depressed fracture. We have not bound it so her brain can expand with minimal damage. She is on medication that controls the inflammation, but that is a short-term solution and we will need to wean her off that within the next few days so that she can heal."

"What are her chances for a recovery?" Steve tried to keep his voice steady and professional, but the doctor noticed the slightest tremor.

"She is a fighter, Commander McGarrett. With the support of her family, I believe her odds for a recovery are fairly good."

Steve nodded and turned to Alyssa. Her hand was still and cool and felt each of the small bones as he held it. Again Steve realized how badly he had failed her. "Please, Aly," he whispered. "Please, Little Sister, come back to me."

Steve did not know how long he sat with Alyssa holding her hand, but the buzzing of his phone roused him from his almost trance-like state.

"McGarrett," he said in a quiet voice as if he would wake up Alyssa.

"Boss. Its Kono," her voice held a note of urgency;" We need to talk." Chin and I are in the room. Can you come out?

In a few minutes Steve was sitting in the cafeteria with Kono. His first action when he saw the cousins was to suggest that perhaps Chin would do him a favor and check on Alyssa while he and Kono spoke.

"Thank you," Chin said quietly as he headed to find the room number that Steve provided.

"Thank you," Kono repeated. "This is killing him." And then realizing what she had said, "Steve – how are you holding up?"

"I'm OK," Steve said unconvincingly. The both looked down on the table to realize that her hand was now lying on top of his. Kono pulled her hand back and reached for her tablet and Steve found that he really missed that momentary warmth; warmth that reached much deeper than just his hand. Quickly changing the subject, Steve asked, "What do you have for me?"

"I found a couple of Detectives who were uniformed cops back in the day. They remembered the case. I was also able to pull the official case file. You are not going to like it."

"I'm sure I'm not," Steve said with a grim, humorless smile.

"Alyssa was a runaway and Wo Fat found her. He took her to the house, fed her, cleaned her up and gave her a place to stay. For a price."

Steve nodded. He knew the real price Aly had paid.

"Aly figured out what was going on and ran away. The Detectives were not sure how long she was there, but probably not very. She ran right to the police and told them about the Prostitution ring. She gave the address and directions. Or, more to the point, she gave the information to Officer Kyle. He wanted to keep her at the station, but she bolted back to the house; the detectives said it was because she still had friends there and she was worried about them.

Chow...I mean Wo Fat caught her returning and she was punished for running away." Kono reached into the file folder that was on the table. "Steve," Kono sounded on the verge of tears, "The beat her." Kono pulled out the picture. Steve could not help but catch his breath. It was a typical evidence photograph. This one showed a woman's back covered in bloody and bleeding welts. Steve briefly closed his eyes, trying to forget the image. Wo Fat's list of things that he was going to answer for was getting longer by the minute. "

"Someday," Steve thought. "Someday very soon."

"The cops raided the house," Kono continued. "This is where things get confusing. Officer Kyle is shot and dies on the scene. The cops find Alyssa – she was not hiding, she was trying to keep Kyle alive. In any case, they found Aly and took her into protective custody. When it was all over, they changed her name from Alice Foster to Alyssa Grant and move her to a foster home until she aged out."

"But why protective custody?" Steve was confused. "I understand changing the name so that her records do not follow her into adulthood, but what did she need protection from?"

Kono took a deep breath. "Aly was going to be the key witness for the Prosecution. She identified Mr. Chow as the man who shot Officer Kyle. Steve - Aly saw Wo Fat shoot a cop."

As Steve was digesting this new revelation, he heard the speakers in the cafeteria come alive. "Room 157 – Code Blue. Room 157 -

Code Blue." Kono watched as Steve's face drained of color.

"Oh God," he whispered, "Aly." He was running for the cafeteria exit before the announcement was completed. It took Kono only a moment longer to comprehend what was happening and she jumped up and ran after Steve.


	13. Chapter 13

Steve came to a halt in front of Alyssa's room. He saw Chin standing outside the room arms crossed, looking in the window. Inside the room was organized chaos; doctors and nurses surrounding Alyssa who appeared to be thrashing on the bed.

"What the hell happened?" Steve asked.

Chin took a breath and without taking his eyes of the window said, "She went into convulsions. One minute she was resting and the next...," he stopped and jerked his head toward the room, "...that."

A nurse briskly walked out of the room. "Excuse me, "Steve said blocking her way, "What is going on here? How is my sister?"

The nurse briefly debated trying to get around Steve or to avoid answering the question, but there must have been something in Steve's eyes that convinced her otherwise.

"Febrile Seizures. Her fever spiked. We are getting it under control. She'll be OK." She looked Steve up and down. "Please. I need to bring additional medication to the doctor."

Steve moved out of the nurse's way and stood toward Chin. He had heard and understood what the nurse had said, but watching Aly thrashing on the bed while the nurses tried to prevent her from tearing her stitches or otherwise hurting herself, the diagnosis seemed difficult to believe. However, in a few minutes, he noticed the thrashing decreasing and soon Aly was lying still in the bed. All the monitors appears to be back to normal and Steve breathed a sigh a relief.

Dr. Larkin stepped out of the room. He removed the latex gloves he had been wearing. His eyes panned across the three worried faces.

"Alyssa is going to be OK. Her fever spiked out of control and the speed with which it increased caused the seizures. She is resting now and we will be taking a more aggressive approach to managing her fever. I believe she will be fine.

Steve shook hands with the doctor. "Thank you, Doctor."

Kono and Chin exchanged quick looks and Chin nodded slightly. "We'll be going now," he said. He walked to the bed and gently brushed Alyssa's cheek with the back of his hand and with one more look, but not another word, he and Kono headed out. Steve watched them leave as he took Alyssa's hand, and resumed his vigil at his sister's bedside.

The buzzing of the cell phone on the table made the water pitcher rattle and it woke Steve up from his doze. That is all that he had been doing for the last – he checked his watch – for the last 2 and a half days. Most of the time he sat quietly with Alyssa, holding her hand and willing her to get better. Perhaps, he thought, he was having some effect. The breathing tube had come out a day ago and this morning the nurse said that Aly's fever had finally broken. They had also started cutting back the pain medication as well as the sedatives so every once in a while he would see Aly shift in her bed and mumble, although that was a close as she had come to waking up.

The cell phone buzzed again and Steve grabbed it. "McGarrett," he said tersely, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head and looking in vain through all the empty paper cups for any more of the vending machine coffee.

"Commander," the voice on the other end sounded familiar, but Steve was unable to place it immediately. "This is Warden Cooper." Steve remained silent, encouraging the other man to continue. "My apologies for bothering you. I am calling regarding Wo Fat…,"

The name was enough to jar Steve into full wakefulness. "What about Wo Fat?" Steve asked guardedly.

"Since you are listed as the arresting officer, I wanted to call you to let you know that we will be transporting him tomorrow. We will move him to the airport, where a specially chartered airplane will take him, under fully armed guard to our facility in Arizona.

Steve thought about the information for a moment, and responded with one word, "Don't."

"I beg your pardon, Commander," the Warden said.

"Don't do it, Warden," Steve said. He hoped his voice sounded professional and not petulant. "With all due respect, Warden, my team is better qualified to deal with this. If you give us a few days, I'm sure that we'd be able to have a plan in place to safely and efficiently transport Wo Fat."

"McGarrett, this is not a negotiation. We're moving him tomorrow. I have the assistance of the HPD, along with additional security experts and specially trained guards." The Warden continues with heavy sarcasm, "I am sure that while they may not be on par with your team, they will somehow manage." A pause and a deep breath, "This call was a courtesy only. Good afternoon." There was no chance for Steve to argue, even had he wanted to.

That evening, Kono found Steve sitting by Alyssa's bedside as if in a trance. "Steve," she said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've been here for three days. You need to get some food and you need to rest. You can't fall apart – Aly needs you."

For a moment Steve looked at her uncomprehendingly and she continued. "Let me take you home. You can have something to eat and get a good night's sleep. You can be back here tomorrow morning. Chin will stay with Aly overnight. She won't be alone."

Steve desperately wanted to argue, but in truth he was exhausted and the news about Wo Fat bothered him more than he could put into words – it just felt wrong. He nodded and rose slowly and heavily to follow Kono out. Chin was waiting by the door, his eyes focused worriedly on Steve. As Steve walked out, he stopped and rested a hand on Chin's shoulder momentarily. The men exchanged a look and Steve walked out.

Steve must have dozed off because his next memory was of the car pulling up to his house. He let Kono in and followed her.

"I'll go see what I can find to eat," Kono said. "You go take a shower."

Steve nodded and headed off.

Kono checked out the kitchen. Not surprisingly, the options were limited, but she found enough to make a decent sandwich. That and a bottle of beer would do at this point. She sat down at the table to wait for Steve to come down. When after half an hour she had not seen Steve, she decided to check on him; perhaps he had fallen asleep.

Quietly, Kono walked up the stairs and into the Master Bedroom. She did not see Steve on the bed and she heard the shower running. She very quietly walked toward the bathroom and entered the well-lit room. What she saw, took her breath away. Steve was standing in the shower. His hands were braced on the wall and his head was slumped between his shoulders. His back was to the door and to Kono. For the first time in all the time that she knew Steve, Kono saw him looking defeated and forlorn - as if the weight of everything that was happening was finally too much to bear. Kono's heart ached for Steve.

She had not realized it, but she had approached the shower and was now standing right by the door. If Kono had taken even a moment to think, she would have stopped; she would have never done what she did next. Still dressed, she quietly opened the door of the shower and stepped in closing the door behind her.


	14. Chapter 14

Kono reached out to touch Steve's shoulder, "Ste...,". She never finished calling his name. Steve spun around – she had forgotten how fast he could be - and grabbed Kono's forearms in a vice like grip.

Steve stared into her eyes. "Kono? What the hell are you doing?" His voice was harsh and raspy, and his eyes raked her body hungrily as her wet clothes clung to every curve.

"Steve. I….," Kono really had no words. He was so handsome. His dark hair wet and plastered and the water running over and beading over his muscled torso. Kono was still not thinking straight; she was driven purely by her desire now and she moved closer to Steve, looking into his eyes willing him to see what was written in hers.

"Kono," Steve whispered, voice hoarse with desire, "I…Aw hell." Steve pulled her to him and his mouth covered hers. The kiss was hard and hungry. It encompassed all the years that he had wanted her. Kono responded willingly, her mouth devouring his as hungrily. She needed him to know how much she desired him. She started twining her hands around his neck, when he broke contact and away and pushed her away from him.

"Kono," he said, his voice shaking with desire and regret, "I can't. Adam…,"

"…is gone

," Kono finished for him. "He and I broke up." She realized that she was babbling, but she needed to tell him. She should have told him all this years ago. "I realized that it was never going to work. He had one thing wrong with him that no amount of money and no amount time could ever fix. He wasn't you, Steve. He wasn't you."

Steve looked at Kono thunderstruck. She watched the emotions play in his expressive eyes. First confusion and sadness, then hope, and then comprehension. This woman about whom he had dreamed from the first day he met her; the woman to whom he subconsciously compared all others; the only woman who he could every truly love. His mouth worked to say something, but he was so overwhelmed that no words would come.. Instead, he buried both hands in her hair and tipped her face upward. His lips came down on hers again and this time, he was not going to stop.

Kono was swept away in a tide of emotion and sensation. Steve's kisses were driving her crazy. When he nipped her bottom lip, she opened her mouth and permitted his tongue to mate with hers. She felt Steve remove her tank top and then undo her bra. His fingers fumbled as he worked on the button of her shorts. She could not contain the giggle that escaped her lips as Steve growled in frustration. She took his hand, kissed the palm and undid the button, letting him pull down the zipper and slide the shorts and panties off.

Steve stopped the kisses just long enough to look at Kono and his breath caught in his throat. She was flawless. Absolutely perfect. He felt himself becoming aroused even as he pulled her to him again. His hands roved over her body, getting to know it in a way he only dreamed of before.

He cupped her breasts and rubbed his thumbs against her nipples eliciting a sigh of contentment from Kono. All the wanted was to be close to Steve to feel his body against hers. She pulled her hands through his hair. Steve's hands continued their journey downward; he gently slid them down her sides and across her belly. Not stopping his assault on her mouth, he reached between her legs. He was rewarded by a gasp into his mouth as Kono moaned in pleasure. His fingers entered her and found her already slick and hot with her own arousal. He stopped his kisses only long enough to look at her. One look into her passion-darkened eyes and he knew he was lost. Without a thought, he picked her up, braced her against the shower wall.

Steve entered Kono with agonizing slowness wanting to prolong the pleasure. Kono cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders. Steve groaned deep in his throat as he began to move. He moved slowly at first, but his need was too great and he started to move faster and faster. Kono's breath came in gasps and soon she was moaning in rhythm to his thrusts. Steve felt her tighten around him, as she began to shake and cry out his name. With one more thrust, he too found release whispering her name into her shoulder.

With his remaining strength, Steve lowered Kono to the ground, and wrapped his arms around her as she rested against his chest with her arms around his waist. The water continued to pour on them as their heart rates slowed enough for them to speak.

Kono looked up at Steve and smiled. "Hey sailor," she whispered.

"Hey," Steve responded as he looked down on her his eyes warm.

She stood on her toes to plant a light kiss on his lips. "Come with me, we're not done." She stepped out of the shower, and reached a hand for Steve.. She led him, still dripping into the bedroom. There they stood and embraced. Kono kissed his mouth, and then moved to his chin and downward to his neck. She kissed the hollow of his throat and then worked her way down his chest. He was all hard muscle and sharp angles. When Kono felt Steve's body start to respond to her, she looked up and smiled wickedly. She pushed Steve lightly so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Steve had always been a man of control. Even in intimate situations, he was in full control of his faculties and of what was going on around him. Now he completely relinquished that control to the woman who he trusted with his life.

Kono knelt between Steve's knees and began to caress him. Steve moaned with pleasure which spurred her on. After a few minutes, Kono took him into her mouth and started to move back and forth. Steve was holding the edge of the bed so hard his knuckles were turning white. He took his hands and entangled them in Kono's hair as his hips began to move in time with her mouth. "You are going to kill me," he gasped and he thought he actually felt Kono smile.

When Kono felt Steve fully erect and actually felt his body shake as he tried to control his desire, she ended the ministrations with her mouth. She stood up and straddled Steve, lowering herself slowly onto his fully erect shaft. Her head dropped to his shoulder as the pleasure of the contact overtook her and Steve threw back his head and groaned as he was enveloped by her warmth. She moved slowly, using his shoulders as leverage gasping each time he fully entered her.

When Steve felt that he could take no more, he grabbed Kono. He pulled them both onto the bed. Kono was still straddling him and now she started to rock her hips back and forth. All Steve could could do was breathe out her name as his hands held her hips and moved up and down her back.. Kono's head dropped and her hair acted a curtain. Steve reached up and took her face, pulling her to him. "I want to see you," he whispered as he continued to kiss her.

Kono's movements became faster and faster and she began to moan as the pleasure began to build in her. Steve moved in time and his gasps matched hers. His hand moved in between them, and he found her most sensitive spot. He gently teased it, as Kono began to cry out. Her movement became almost frantic as she began to lose control. She felt Steve's release and it took her over the edge as the two cried out in almost perfect unison. Kono collapsed on top of Steve, tucking her head under his chin and listening to his racing heart. He kissed her hair and stroked her back.

There, somewhere in that place of perfect peace, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms, the sorrows and trials of the past few days momentarily forgotten. Together now as they had always been meant to be, they would be each other's strength and they would face together whatever the new day would bring.


	15. Chapter 15

Chin had been sitting with Alyssa for several hours since Kono had gone to take Steve home.

Ignoring the uniformed cop stationed outside of Alyssa's door, Chin had taken her hand in his and scanned her face for any signs of improvement. Was he lying to himself or was she slightly less pale than she had been? He knew that the doctors were slowly decreasing the level of sedation and they assured him that she was in the process of waking up. If that was so, why was this taking so damn long?

During the night, he would hear Aly mumble quietly. Nothing that made sense, but he took it as a good sign that she was, at least approaching consciousness. Deep in the night, he must have dozed off because he was woken up by Alyssa actually crying on – in fear or pain – he did not know and did not care. He was holding her hand in his and with his other hand, he gently ran the back of his hand along her cheek and jawline trying to comfort and console her. "Aly," he whispered. "Aly. Its OK. Everything is going to be OK. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." There it was; he was certain that he had not imagined it. Her fingers did close on his. Not much, but enough to know she had heard him. He stroked her hair and continued to speak softly and encouragingly. Finally, it seemed as if she had heard him and she began to calm down, visibly relaxing

Relief flooded through Chin as he too began to relax slightly. Just as he was letting out a long-suppressed breath, and sitting back in the uncomfortable hospital chair, his phone vibrated. Checking the screen, he was surprised that the caller was Danny.

"Chin. Are you with Aly?" Danny did not bother with any introductions and there was an urgency in his voice that made Chin sit up, his body again alive with tension. He replied that he was indeed sitting with Aly. "We have a problem...," Danny said.

Steve's eyes flew open. Something had woken him up, but he was not sure what it had been. He lay there for a moment, as memories flooded back. A warmth by his side and a quiet, sleepy mumble reminded him that he was not alone. Steve smiled in the darkness and pulled Kono closer to him.

The cell phone on his nightstand vibrated again and Steve knew that this sound was what had woken him up. He reached for the phone and saw that it was 5 am and that the caller was Danny. "McGarrett," he said into the phone.

"Are you watching the news?" There was no preamble or introduction and Steve felt an unreasonable flash of irritation at his partner. He was about to tell Danny that was involved in much more satisfying activities than watching the news, but Danny interrupted that train of thought. "Its Wo Fat." Steve was instantly awake.

"Go on," he said tersely.

Danny took a deep breath and went on. "Its all over the news. They were moving Wo Fat to the airport and they were ambushed." Danny paused in his narrative to quip sarcastically, "That's a surprise, isn't it?"

Steve got out of bed, went to the television set and turned it on. He saw aerial footage from what must have been a helicopter. What he saw made his heart sink. He saw a police car on fire and an overturned armored car with the back doors blasted open. He saw cops milling about and several ambulances with all their lights flashing. But when he saw the Medical Examiner's van pull up, he found his voice to ask Danny. "How bad."

"Four dead," his partner answered flatly. "The driver, one of the guards and two cops. Three more cops injured and the other guard who was in the back with Wo Fat is not likely to make it."

"And Wo Fat?" Steve asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.

"In the wind. No trace of him," was Danny's response. "And before you ask, I've already called Chin at the hospital to warn him and have an additional uniform outside of Aly's room at all times. Nobody's going to get to her."

Steve released a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Danny," Steve said simply. He looked up and realized that Kono was awake and sitting up in bed with a quizzical look on her face. "Wo Fat," he mouthed to her, and her face darkened even as she focused on the TV and nodded her understanding.

About forty five minutes later Steve and Kono entered Alyssa's hospital room. Steve was gratified by the sight of the two fully armed police officers standing by her door, but, if he was honest with himself, he had no doubt that Wo Fat would find a way in if he wanted to. While he was grateful to the officers, he only truly had faith in himself and his team to really protect Aly.

"How is she?" Steve asked.

Chin spared a moment to look between Steve and Kono, but if he had any thoughts or suspicions, his face did not betray them. He did permit himself a small, if tired, smile as he looked down at the smaller hand, lightly grasping his.

"This happened earlier today. I think she is starting to wake up. The doc came by and said that they would take her for tests in a few hours to see how she is doing."

Steve walked over and stood on the side opposite to Chin. He too took Alyssa's hand in his and was gratified to feel her now-warm fingers weakly try to wrap around his hand. Tearing his eyes from his sister's face, Steve looked at Chin. "You need to go home and rest."

"Not gonna happen boss," was the other man's reply. "Wo Fat is out there and they need everybody they can get on this manhunt." Chin gently released Alyssa's hand, rested his hand on top of hers for a moment longer, "I'll keep you updated," he said as he walked out.

At 9 am, Dr. Larkin walked in smiling. "I understand that our patient is improving," he said jovially.

"So they tell me," was Steve's reply. He would not be satisfied, until Alyssa was out of the hospital and back working with the team. Anything else was an incremental improvement at best.

Following the doctor were two orderlies who took the bed along with the myriad of medications bags and began to move her.

"I'm going with you," Steve said and the doctor nodded. Steve followed the bed as they wheeled Alyssa toward large double doors, marked "Radiology". At the doors, the doctor turned to Steve and said that he needed to wait outside and that only staff were permitted inside. He assured Steve that there was only one way in so he would be able to ensure Alyssa's safety by standing where he was. Steve was not happy about it but he nodded. His last view was of Alyssa being wheeled into a large room and a technician in a face mask starting to hook her up to various devices as well as adjusting her medications.

Steve was busy scanning the corridor when a frazzled young man ran up to the doors and attempted to enter. Steve moved his body to block him. "Who are you?" He asked. "What do you need in there?"

The young man was obviously nervous and the glare that Steve was giving him was not helping, he stammered a response. "My name is Bill Adams. I'm the tech. They are waiting for me in there. They can't start the tests without me. I could not find my ID badge so could not get into the building until one of the guards recognized me and let me in."

Steve continued to look at the young man, and his mind flashed on the masked person in the room. He released the man, who immediately ducked through the doors. Steve considered his options for a moment more and went in after him.

When Steve had gotten through the double doors, he saw the "technician" - standing by Alyssa's bed with a syringe in his hand adding something to one of her drip bags.

"Wo Fat," Steve yelled and was not surprised when the man looked up. "Get her out of here," Steve yelled to the doctor and orderlies as he charged the man. The people in the room scrambled to do as they were told once they all realized that their patient may be in danger. The nurse began removing the IV's that may have been tampered with while the doctor and orderlies prepared to move the bed.

Steve charged into the man at full speed and brought him to the ground. He was not surprise to see Wo Fat's malevolent eyes gaze at him as the mask and surgical cap came off in the scuffle.

Wo Fat pummeled Steve and used his knees to leverage him off and over his head. Steve fell and rolled. He stood quickly and assumed a fighting stance against Wo Fat who was also standing. Wo Fat threw a punch that Steve mostly avoided, but it did catch him on the side of head, stunning him momentarily. Steve shook himself like a dog and managed to kick out with such force that Wo Fat was flung through the double doors and into the hallway. Wo Fat changed tactics and tackled Steve so that his head hit the hard floor. Steve bellowed in pain and anger and lashed out with a fist that caught the other man on his nose causing blood to spurt. Using Wo Fat's momentary confusion, Steve was able to stagger to his feet, shake off, the pain and grogginess as he went for the man he hated more than almost anybody else in the world. Unfortunately, Wo Fat was faster. He used the face that Steve was momentarily slowed down, to make a dash down one of the hall ways. He ran, pushing carts, nurses and patients into Steve's path. Steve headed in pursuit – this time he was going to capture the bastard and lock him into some deep dark hole from which he would never escape.

"Steve!" The sound of his name called with such urgency, drew him out of his tunnel vision and he looked into Kono's worried eyes. "Its Aly. They need you in her room. Now."


	16. Chapter 16

Steve looked at Wo Fat's retreating back. There were several security guards chasing him down the hall, but Steve knew that they would not catch him. Wo Fat was gone.

Steve focused on Kono who turned and ran down the hall toward Alyssa's room. Steve followed her, his concern increasing by the second. His fears were not diminished when he saw that the room was full of people obscuring Alyssa. He saw the doctor approach.

"Another seizure?" Steve asked the approaching doctor.

Doctor Larkin, shook his head, "No. Since we did not know which, if any of the medications was compromised we took Office Grant off all of them. Without the sedatives, she woke up. Young people like her, tend to wake up very confused. It leads them to panic. That is what is going on. We are trying to restrain and calm her."

Steve was not listening. When he heard that Alyssa was awake, he burst into the room. He saw one of the orderlies, a large Hawaiian man, attempting to put restraints on Alyssa – they looked like padded hand cuffs. "What do you think you're doing," Steve demanded angrily, pushing past the man. He saw Alyssa in the bed. She was tossing violently and resisting any attempts of any of the staff to even touch her. "No," she was mumbling. "No, please. Don't touch me."

Without a thought, Steve made his way to the bed, pushing more nurses and doctors out of the way. He gently, but firmly caught Alyssa's wrists in his hands. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he began to speak to her in a quiet, soothing voice.

"Aly. Honey. It's Steve. You're OK. You're safe. Everything is OK." The thrashing seemed to subside a little, so he continued. "You were hurt pretty bad and you are at the hospital. The people here are just trying to help you. Please let them help you." Steve continued in the same tone. "You need to open your eyes, Aly. You need to wake up. You're safe. I'm here. Everything is OK."

Alyssa stopped fighting him and her eyes fluttered open. "Steve?" She whispered.

"Yeah, Aly. I'm here," Steve's voice was soft and slightly hoarse with emotion.

"It hurts."

"I know," he said, his voice full of compassion. "If you can relax your arms, they can give you something to help." Steve watched as Alyssa's arms relaxed in his hands. He gently lowered them to her sides, keeping hold of one hand that clung to his."

"I don't want to sleep," Alyssa whispered, her eyes desperate. "Need to talk to you."

Steve looked up at the doctor, who nodded his ascent. "OK," Steve said soothingly. "They won't sedate you. They'll only give you something for the pain."

Alyssa nodded and this time did not resist when one of the nurses took her arm. Alyssa visibly flinched when the nurse inserted the needle and hooked up the several drips, but she did not pull her arm away. Steve stayed by her side speaking to her quietly and occasionally stroking her hair or face. Alyssa was now calm and lying still clearly exhausted by her ordeal. Periodically, she would steal a look at Steve's face as if to reassure herself that he was still there.

When the nurses completed their work and exited the room, only Steve and Kono remained with Alyssa. Kono had been standing quietly to the side so as not to be in the way. She had been watching Steve. Again she wondererd at the dichotomy. Steve was a tough, hard man; a trained soldier; a man who could kill without blinking an eye. And yet, he was a man capable of extreme gentleness and compassion – a man who seemed to feel the hurts of those he cared about as deeply as they did.

Kono walked up to Steve and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with a slight, gentle smile on his face. He was looked back down at his sister whose regular breathing indicated that she was sleeping. "She fell asleep. She'd been trying so hard to talk, but she just nodded off." He took a deep breath and leaned back against Kono savoring the strength and support she offered. "For the first time since all this started, I think I'm actually starting to believe that she's going to be OK." Steve took a deep breath. "I almost lost her...," Steve's voice trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought. Kono felt Steve's body tense and shudder at the thought.

"But you...we didn't lose her," Kono wrapped her arms around Steve's shoulders and felt him relax. "She's a fighter. I know she'll be OK." Steve took a deep breath and shook off his fears. Kono smiled at him. She looked out the door and saw two uniformed officers at the door. Wo Fat was gone for the moment and she was certain Aly would be safe for now. "C'mon Sailor," she said smiling. "I'll buy you some breakfast. You'll be back before she wakes up."

Alyssa stirred and opened her eyes. Her first reaction was to groan at the bright light coming from the window, the light quickly dimmed as somebody adjusted the blinds. Alyssa moved her head gingerly from side to side and noticed that it did not hurt her to do so. She turned her head a little more and saw Steve standing by the window. Two large steps and he was by her bedside. "How do you feel," he asked, taking her hand again.

"Not sure." She hated how rusty her voice sounded. "How long?"

Steve checked his watch, "Almost four days."

Alyssa looked at her brother again. He looked tired and the sadness and concern in his eyes broke her heart since she knew she was the cause of all of it.

"Steve," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

The apology brought Steve up short and Alyssa continued, her voice gaining a little strength as she spoke.

"I know that there's a part of you that wants to yell at me, to chew my head off for being stupid." She smiled a little bit as she saw him start to shake his head. "Don't deny it. You're my boss and...," she reached for his hand, "my brother. I know you. And I know what you'd do to anybody else." She stopped to consider her next words. "Hell. I'd bawl myself out if I was boss."

Steve looked at Alyssa for a moment. He was torn between laughing and, if he was honest with himself, yelling at her just as she had said. "Why?" That one word was almost a whisper. "Why did you lie? After all this time – you still can't trust me?" The pain in his voice and his eyes was so deep that Alyssa's heart actually skipped a beat in sympathy. She reached out to take his other hand. Steve did not resist, but he did not assist her either.

Alyssa's deep breath sounded like a sob. "I do trust you Steve," she whispered brokenly. "I trust you with my life." She did not even try to fight the tears. "I was afraid. Oh, damn it...I was terrified." In response to Steve's questioning look, she tried to continue. "How could I tell you – the head of a law enforcement task force – a task force full of cops, that I was a whore and responsible for the death of a cop."

Steve recoiled at the harshness of her words, but he was beyond confused. He took a breath to calm himself down. "Aly. What are you talking about?"

"You know about...my situation with the foster home," Steve nodded, his lips compressed. "After...that happened, I ran away. I was living on the streets and then Mr. Chow...Wo Fat…found me. The long and the short of it is that I went with him and ended up working for him. Once I realized the type of "work" he was doing, I ran away. I ran straight to the cops and told them what I knew. They tried to keep me safe, but I went back – there were too many girls there that I could not leave behind."

Alyssa, clearly tired, forced herself to continue. "I was caught coming back. They beat me." Steve nodded remembering the pictures Kono had shown him. "I told them that I had gone to the cops," Alyssa sobbed now. "At that point I would have told them anything they wanted if they would only stop hitting me."

Steve reached out a hand and cradled Alyssa's face, wiping away some of her tears with his thumb. "You don't have to do this, Aly."

"Yes. I do." Another sob disguised as a deep breath. "I was in my room and I heard noise. Screaming, yelling, and running feet...and...shots. I ran out and saw Marcus coming around the corner. Next thing, I see him fall and blood...," Alyssa covered her face with her hands, "so much blood. I wanted to help him. I tried. But there was nothing I could do." Alyssa lifted her tear-stained face to Steve. "So you see. Its my fault. They knew the cops were coming."

Steve stared at his sister. His eyes, once hard with hurt and anger, were now soft with his love and understanding. All of a sudden, in a moment of clarity, everything made sense to him. "Aly. None of this is your fault." Alyssa looked at him again with so much hope – hope that somehow he would make this OK. "Think about this like the cop you are now, not as that scared sixteen year old that you were. If you were working with a victim, would you tell her about a raid? Would you give her any information?"

Alyssa froze. Then slowly, as understanding dawned, she shook her head. Steve continued. "Did the police actually say anything to you about a raid? About going to the house."

Alyssa shook her head, "No," she said slowly. "Nothing."

Steve was relentless in his need to make Alyssa understand. "Do you think that at any time, Wo Fat and his men would have been unarmed?"

Alyssa shook her head again, unable to speak. "There would have been a firefight at any time the cops came. You did nothing to cause this and there was nothing you could have done to stop it."

"Nothing," Alyssa whispered. "There was nothing I could do."

Steve wrapped her in his arms, as she continued to cry for the officer that died, for the girl that she had been. "You have nothing to be scared or ashamed about, Aly. Not now. Not ever. I will be here for you and with you. Nothing will change that." Steve stopped speaking and gently took Alyssa's chin so that he could lift her face so that her eyes were looking into his. "Please don't ever feel like you have to keep anything from me...If this had turned out different. If we had not found you...If I had lost you...," Steve could not finish the sentence and just held Alyssa tighter. She responded by curling herself more closely against his body and holding on. There was no need for words.

Alyssa was awake when Chin, carrying a bouquet of Sterling Roses, came through the door. Although Steve was still there, he bent down and brushed her lips with his. Steve smiled at the two of them and got up to leave.

When Steve was left, Alyssa looked at Chin. "I think we need to talk."

Chin sat on the bed and took Alyssa's hands. Alyssa took another breath, she did not think she had any tears left, and told him about her time with Wo Fat. When she was done, she was surprised that she still had tears left. She sobbed as she told Chin about her time on the streets and how Wo Fat took her in. How he seduced her and how...unsuccessful that encounter had been. She told Chin, how Wo Fat set her up in a room to service clients. She finished by telling him how she had run away and come back.

When she was done, she looked at Chin afraid of what he would say.

Chin's eyes were full of pain, but it was him sharing her pain and it was compassion she was seeing. "My old Auntie, used to tell me that bad memories are like echoes. They will always be there, but its your choice if they distract you or not. Aly – this is your past. You did what you needed to do to survive. Those experiences made you into the woman you are. But they cannot control what you do or who you are now. And who you are now is the woman that I love and what you will do now is focus on getting well." He bent his head and kissed Alyssa on the lips and all of a sudden nothing was hurting anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

EPILOGUE

Three Months Later

Alyssa sat on the bedroom floor in her apartment surrounded by moving boxes. So much had changed in the three months since she had been released from the hospital.

The move from her apartment was only one change. Today was the day. Somehow Steve had managed to convince her (or was it cajole? Browbeat?) to move into the house with him. At first, when she was released from the hospital, Steve just took her home and set her up in the bedroom – there was no discussion, it was just done. Somehow with Kono's and Chin's active participation, assistance and encouragement, Alyssa let herself be convinced that it made sense for this living arrangement to continue indefinitely. After all, Wo Fat was still out there and she might still be his target. She had to admit, if only to herself, that she felt much safer living in that house.

Once her brain was clear of the pain medication, she had immediately realized that something had changed between Kono and her brother. When Steve was sitting with her one day, she had turned to him and asked him bluntly, if he was seeing Kono. The furious blush that crept from his neck to his ears was all the answer she needed. She also noticed that the sadness that she had occasionally noticed haunting Steve's eyes was gone. He was genuinely happy and she was happy for both of them. Alyssa actually giggled out loud as she recalled how a blushing Kono described what happened when Chin walked in on her and Steve kissing – just kissing, Kono assured Alyssa-in Steve's office one night after hours. Alyssa could absolutely see Chin walking in the office, seeing Steve and Kono together, arching an eyebrow and just walking out.

Alyssa looked around her tiny, musty apartment. She had been living there for five years and had just a handful of boxes that needed moving; some clothes, some books and a few mementos. Goodwill would be by and would pick up the cheap, crappy furniture and anything else that she would leave behind. Steve and Chin were meeting her at the apartment to help her move the boxes to the house. She looked at the few boxes. She really could have done it herself, but they were treating her as if she was made of glass; they would not even let her move the few boxes that would fit into her jeep.

Alyssa reached into the box nearest to her again and pulled out the old Orchid necklace. How many times had she thought to throw it away and how many times had she put it back in the moving box? This was her past; everything she now was, she could, in one way or another, trace to this necklace. But Chin was right, that was her past and while she acknowledged its impact on her life, she refused to let it continue to distract her from her present and her future. She had a good life now; a life surrounded by people who cared about her and who she loved dearly. She knew that she was making a difference and helping people who needed her.

She heard Steve's and Chin's voices as they entered her apartment through the door that she had left unlocked. With one more look at the necklace, she tossed it in the desk drawer, pushed it shut, stood up, and walked out to meet everything that her future was promising to bring.


End file.
